Faith, Family and Friends
by Mrsbonnieful
Summary: From tragedy in the Abbey Graveyard,through separation and reunion. Meet those who helped them, old and new. Eventual escape to America and what happened to everyone.
1. The Impossible

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is all Rogers and Hammerstein's work. And the screen writers and the network; No Copyright infringement intended.

**A/N:** Much of my inspiration comes from Maria's own writings; The story of the Trapp Family Singers, Maria, My Own Story and Yesterday, Today & Forever.

I use Wikipedia extensively to research facts from the time of the Trapp family; I try to be as accurate as possible.

The Impossible

Rolf stood there with his gun drawn, pointed directly at Georg. Georg froze at first and then started talking to him. With his hand he signaled to Maria to go to the car. Suddenly out of nowhere two soldiers appeared, with guns drawn, they did not hesitate to shoot.

Multiple shots rang out; screams from the children broke through the stillness of the night, as they saw their mother fall to the ground.

Kurt huddled on top of Gretl; he grabbed Marta with his other arm. Louisa and Brigitta fell to the ground behind them.

Liesl was the first to her mother's side; she saw the blood is pouring from her shoulder – she froze in place.. She was used to her brothers and sisters cuts and bruises; she had never seen so much blood – she felt hot, nauseous and faint.

Friedrich was swiftly behind her. A year ago he had witnessed a fight in the Market Place. One of the boys pulled a knife and stabbed the other – producing a gush of blood. A man came to his aid and put his hand on his wound; it had slowed the blood flow.

In a matter of seconds, he moved Liesl out of the way. He held his mother in his arms he put his hand against his mother's chest wound. The flow of blood appeared to slow.

Rolf, not being a seasoned soldier gasped at what had happened. "Don't shoot, they're innocent."

The captain noticed his distraction. Georg grabbed his gun. As Georg flashed the gun in the direction of the two soldiers, they dropped their guns and ran away.

Rolf stood there, unable to move. He saw what was happening.

"Liesl, Friedrich get everyone in the car." The captain shouted.

Friedrich let go of his mother and placed her gently on the ground.

Maria didn't speak, she was dazed and in shock. Neither did Georg; his mind was planning his next move. He tucked the gun into his pants, Georg carefully scooped Maria into his arms and moved deliberately to the car.

"Friedrich, keep your mother sitting up and put some pressure on her chest to try and slow the bleeding."

He sped away. He drove out of the city, twisting and turning often to keep the soldiers at bay; he was able to evade them in the hills; and then stopped to check on Maria.

The wound in her chest was still bleeding heavily. She tried to hide it, but he could see the fear in her eyes. He tried to speak but the words would not form; he couldn't look at her again; he didn't want her to see his fear.

He took off his shirt and made a pressure dressing; he tied it as tight as he could. Friedrich continued to help by putting more pressure on his mother's chest.

Georg drove as far as he could. He saw the soldiers at the end on the road. Quickly he turned off the car lights and drove it into the hillside as far as he could. He knew they would have to hide in the hills.

Maria was helpless in trying to calm the children – she was weak and in a lot of pain – she could barely walk herself.

The fear she saw on their faces and the tears that ran down their cheeks broke her heart and there was nothing she could do.

She couldn't keep up with them; she was growing weary and unsteady. The hillside was full of rocks and holes – she stumbled into one, twisting her ankle. She fell to the ground and grabbed it. It hurt so badly she cried out in pain.

Georg came to her, hoping it wasn't broken he helped her to stand; but the pain was so great she could not walk.

Georg picked her up but he couldn't carry her for very long. He had to put her down.

The sirens of the soldier's cars were getting closer; he looked back at them; Georg knew they were in danger of being found. The soldiers were searching the area, he could hear them talking.

"Georg, go on without me, save the children." Maria bravely told him.

"Maria, never! I couldn't do that."

"You must, God will watch over me. Go the soldiers are getting closer."

"I can't, Maria."

"You must, please. I will always love you. I will be okay, I just know it. Please!"

With his heart breaking, Georg realized what he had to do. Quickly, he looked around, he spotted several large boulders surrounded by brush and trees. He picked her up and carefully placed her behind the boulders.

There wasn't anytime for a loving good bye.

He kissed her; "I love you, Maria," with tears running down his cheeks, he turned to go, he heard Maria say "I love you."

Then he gathered the children. All were sobbing; but minding their father, they ran as fast as they could.

Maria said to herself, "I know God will bring us back together, I just know."

Georg and the children ran for as long as they could; they stopped only when they didn't hear any voices.

The children were silent. "Your mother is strong, she believes God will protect her and so do I. Say your prayers children, that is what your mother wants you to do." And Georg prayed.

"O Almighty and merciful God, who has commissioned your angels to guide and protect us; may you send them to watch over Maria and bring her safely home."

And the children could only think of their nightly prayer Maria had taught them long ago.

"Angel of God, my guardian dear  
>To whom God's love commits me here<br>Ever this night be at my side  
>To light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen"<p> 


	2. The Good Samaratin

The Good Samaritan

A young Jewish boy, Samuel, was out walking in the hills as he did many evenings. He had heard all the commotion; the car sirens and the soldiers talking; and a large group of people running away from them. He ran behind them; keeping his distance so as not to be seen.

He saw everything; a man leaving a woman behind a large rock; a woman who was injured.

He watched from a distance as the soldiers searched the area; after finding the car empty, they searched for a short while longer and then turned back to their cars. He saw them pass right by the woman.

Maria lay very still, barely breathing; she saw the soldiers pass by her.

Maria trusted God. That seed of faith had been planted early in her life; the atheists tried to teach her differently and for a while she believed them, she felt herself unworthy of love. One Palm Sunday when she was about sixteen she heard a sermon that changed her life forever. The seed grew and gave Maria an absolute and unwavering faith.

She prayed, "Dear Father, send a Samaritan like you did for the injured man on the road. Send your angels to watch over Georg and the children." And then over and over she would pray; Our Father who art in heaven…..Hail Mary full of grace….

Samuel waited; he wanted to be sure all the soldiers were gone. Then he approached the woman.

He didn't want to scare her; he decided to recite a psalm.

"The Lord is my shepherd.  
>I fear no evil;<br>For you are with me.  
>Your rod and your staff protect me."<p>

He was sure, the woman whose name he had heard, Maria, would know he was not a soldier.

Maria heard the voice, at first she was frightened; but then she listened closely.

She heard, "God watches over his flock, Maria."

"I heard the man call your name, Maria"

Maria breathed a painful breath, "yes," she whispered.

Without coming any closer, Samuel spoke. "I'm Samuel. I was out walking in the hills, I saw everything, Maria. Please don't be afraid of me. May I come closer?"

Maria thought, anyone who would recite a psalm must be kind. Maybe he was her Good Samaritan, she thought. "Yes, come."

Samuel was careful; he knew the hills just like Maria knew her mountain.

The sky was clear; an almost full moon had risen in the sky and shed some light on the ground.

Samuel found her, lying in a fetal position; not only to keep warm but because she was in so much pain.

He knew how to help her; he helped the doctor in town whenever he could.

The bandage on her chest was quite tight and was not soaked with blood. He asked her, "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I was hit in my leg," she pointed to her thigh. Samuel looked at where she was pointing; "doesn't seem too bad Maria, I don't see any bleeding."

"And I fell in a hole and twisted my ankle."

"Okay, let me help you stand."

Her ankle was extremely painful, but she did not collapse when he helped her stand. She just moaned in pain.

"Maria, we will go very slow; my home is not too far; just outside of town."

Samuel was strong for a boy. Maria used him as a crutch; she walked on her good leg.

He stopped often to let her sit on a rock; they slowly made their way to his home.

After hearing the sirens and knowing his son was out walking; his father, Peter, got worried when he didn't come home. He started to look for him.

Samuel saw the lantern his father was carrying and shouted, "Father come help me!"

As his father got closer, Samuel said. "Help me Father; this woman was shot by the soldiers."

Peter noticed that Maria was a small woman offered to carry her the rest of the way to the house.

Samuel's brother and sister came to help; they found a place for Maria to lie down.

Peter turned to his younger son, "David, please bring Dr. Abraham here."

In a small voice, Maria asked, "Can he be trusted?"

"Yes, Maria, he's a friend, I help him after school."

His mother, Ruth brought Maria some tea to sip on.


	3. HEALING

Healing

"Maria," Dr. Abraham said, "I have some medicine for you to drink, please try to drink it, I know it doesn't taste very good but it will help you relax so I can examine your wounds."

The medicine had taken away some of her pain, and made her very sleepy.

Samuel helped the doctor examine and clean her wounds and Ruth stayed by her side to comfort her.

Maria, "You are very lucky, the bandage on your chest stopped most of the bleeding; the bullet made a clean entry and exit in your thigh. You also have a slight wound on your side. I don't think your ankle is broken, just badly sprained."

"Thank you doctor;" then Maria drifted off to sleep.

Samuel, his mother and sister took turns staying with her. The doctor wanted her to have tea and broth whenever she woke up.

Dr. Abraham returned in the morning to clean her wounds again. Then he wrapped her ankle tightly.

"Maria, you will need to stay off of it as much as you can." She nodded.

"Who was the man who left you?" They asked.

Maria hesitated, "My husband needed to leave Austria, the German Navy wanted him. I couldn't let that happen, so I told him to go on with the children. I knew God would take care of me, I just knew." She looked at Samuel.

"He sent a Good Samaritan."

Ruth thought for a moment, and then said. "You recently married Georg von Trapp? Is that right, Maria?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I saw the announcement in the paper."

Peter spoke, "Maria, we will help you find him, don't you worry any more."

"This is more than I could have ever hoped for, thank you. How will I ever repay you?"

"Don't worry about that now."

"Do you know where he was headed?"

"No, just somewhere in Switzerland."

"Father, I could take those small roads on the side of the mountain. I don't think the soldiers will be guarding them. Most people don't even know they exist. They all lead to the same main road in Switzerland."

Ruth packed them several baskets of food. She also sent a couple of blankets with them.

Before they left, Peter told his son to wire him when they were safe; knowing that it would be read by the Germans, they would use a code word for Maria, Songbird.


	4. Traveling

Traveling

Maria wanted to leave as soon as possible. With a full tank of gas, Samuel and Maria headed out later that afternoon.

Near the top of a large hill, Samuel stopped.

"Maria, I'm going to check on the road ahead."

He poured her something to drink before he walked ahead. She had a small piece of fruit as she waited.

Samuel could see that the road below was being well guarded by the soldiers. He was surprised; this was not a main road. Some local must be an informant, he thought; he kept that thought to himself, he didn't want to worry Maria.

Then he glanced further on the side of the hill and noticed another road leading to the border that no one was guarding.

"Maria, there are soldiers down below but I see another road to take us over the border. It will be a very bumpy ride, tell me if we need to stop at anytime."

Maria smiled at him; her heart warmed to think this boy had so much compassion for a stranger. "I think I'll be fine, thank you."

He had no choice but to drive slowly. At one point he got out to look at the road ahead. There was one large hole he would need to avoid. Slowly, he drove into the underbrush and made his way down the hill.

It was difficult to know if they had crossed the border. The moon which had been so bright the night he found Maria was covered by clouds.

The road was smooth; that was a good sign.

They stopped again to eat. After helping Maria relieve herself, they continued.

It was beginning to get daylight. The farmers in the area would be up soon, Samuel thought.

After a few more miles, he saw a man taking his sheep out to graze,

Samuel stopped, waking Maria so she would not worry; he walked to speak to the man.

After exchanging greetings, Samuel asked, "Are we in Switzerland?" The man nodded. "How far to a village?"

"Just a few more miles," the man said as he pointed in the direction to take.

"Thank you, very much."

He shared the good news with Maria, "We're safe Maria, we're in Switzerland."

Maria shared a big sigh and smiled at Samuel.

Daybreak broke as they entered the village.

It was a small town; vendors were setting up their tables in the market place.

Samuel approached one of the vendors. "Did a man with several children come this way recently?"

The man was very cautious, "Why do you ask?"

"A family was separated trying to flee Austria; the woman in my car is trying to find them."

The man needed to see for himself; he walked to the car.

Maria, feeling they were safe had dozed off.

"Maria," Samuel said as he touched her. She opened her eyes.

"Describe your family to this man."

"My husband is tall and handsome. There are two boys and five girls, the youngest is six and the oldest is seventeen. Have you seen them?"

Believing her, "Yes, they came through here two days ago."

"How were they?" Maria asked desperately

"Physically fine, but very sad."

With tears, "Do you know where they went?"

"To Zurich, on the bus."


	5. Brown Paper Packages

Brown Paper Packages

They took only enough time to freshen up and eat a small meal, they left.

The excitement mounted, Maria no longer slept. Everything that had happened kept replaying in her mind; from horrible incident at the Abbey, separating from Georg so he could save the children and then being found by Samuel. She knew in the depth of her heart that God had sent his angels to watch over all of them. Now they were so close.

They had planned to drive through the night, but Samuel became very sleepy; he had to pull off the road and sleep; in fact they both slept.

The dawn woke him. Maria slept for a while longer; while Samuel drove as fast as he could. He knew they were close; passing many homes in the hills and soon there was traffic on the road with them.

They headed into the city stopping at the first Inn they saw. Maria begged Samuel to help her go inside. Painfully, she walked to the door, to the registration desk.

"Has a man with several children been here recently? "She hesitantly asked.

And who might you be?"

"I'm his wife, Maria. We were separated leaving Austria. I had to stay behind because of my injuries and this nice young boy found me and brought me here."

"But you are so young."

"Yes, Georg's first wife died four years ago, we are recently married."

"Ah! You mean Captain von Trapp and his children?"

"Yes, yes, are they here?" Excitement rang from her quiet voice.

"Not here, but up the street in the large house at the top of the hill.

Almost collapsing from the emotion of the moment, Samuel helped her to sit on a bench on the porch. Maria was in a bit of a daze; knowing that she had actually found them was indeed a miracle, an answer to her prayers. She prayed:

My good Angel; God sent you to take care of me and Samuel,  
>you have been my guide and protector<br>and have been always at my side, you watched us when we slept, consoled us when were scared, lifted me when I fell, and protected us from danger.  
>Your angels also protected my children and my husband, I rejoice in your faithfulness; that we will once again be together as a family.<br>I pray you will continue to watch over all of us. Amen

She opened her eyes and breathed a breath of contentment; she hardly noticed the two children entering the market across they street.

Suddenly, the images of the children became clear in her mind.

"Samuel, two of my children just went into the market."

"Are you sure Maria?"

"Yes, Samuel, I know my children."

As she was about to get up, the children came out of the market and looked right at her.

Louisa looked at Friedrich as he yelled. "Mother, Mother," and together they ran across the street

Maria watched as they ran to her; too emotional and too weak to move. All she could do was smile and cry tears of happiness.

"Careful, your mother is still in a lot of pain, be gentle." Samuel cautioned them.

They both fell at her feet and each grabbed a hand.

The children were both crying; neither could speak. They kissed her hands and touched her face.

Samuel broke the silence. Putting out his hand toward Friedrich, "You must be Friedrich. Your mother described you to a tee. I'm Samuel."

After shaking his hand, he turned toward Louisa, "I know you're not Liesl."

"Louisa," Maria whispered.

"Yes, Louisa, the girl who likes frogs, snakes and Maria's favorite, spiders." He laughed as he saw her hide her face.

"Samuel is my Good Samaritan," Maria told them. "Come on, we need to go, I can't keep your father and the other children in sadness any longer; I'll tell everyone the story at the same time."

Maria leaned on Samuel and Friedrich as they helped her down the steps to the car.

"Mother, no one plays outside anymore, we've been too sad and that reminded us so much of you." Louisa told her.

As they approached the house, it actually looked like nobody lived there.

"I'll tell Father, someone left a large package on the porch, too heavy for even Friedrich to pick up."

"Let's get your mother up the steps first; she can sit there on the chair. "There you go Maria," Samuel says as he helps her.

They were very quiet; it was so hard, the two children were so excited.

Taking a deep breath, Louisa and Friedrich went inside. Maria sat and waited; she tried to keep her emotions under control; her heart felt like it would beat right out of her chest and tears crowded her eyes.

"A package too big for Friedrich to lift; is that what you said, Louisa?" Maria heard Georg say.

"That's right, Father. We need someone strong like you."

Georg was somewhat reluctant to get up; the sadness about Maria weighed heavily on his heart. Louisa had such a joyful tone to her voice, he was taken with it and so he got out of his chair.

As her father got up to go to the door, Louisa motioned to the others to come near her. They looked confused, but walked behind her anyway.

The door slowly opened. The tears Maria had held back tumbled down her face.

Georg saw her.

"Maria, Maria, my Maria." He yelled as he knelt in front of her putting his head gently in her lap and held her softly. Tears that he rarely cried came streaming down his face.

"My Georg, my sea captain, my love," she said as she held his head and brought it up. Gently they kissed; Georg held her close, being careful not to hurt her.

Maria, with her good arm brought him close for a loving embrace; which they held on to for a long time; whispering those three words that meant so much to them, "I love you."

All the children were watching this tender moment between their father and mother; Liesl was doing her best to hold the little ones back for a few minutes.

When they all rushed to her, Samuel reminded them. "Be gentle."

As the children kissed and touched her, Georg stood up and turned to Samuel.

"Young man,"

"I'm Samuel."

"Samuel, you are very brave, your parents must be so proud, thank you for bringing my Maria back to me and the children." Georg put his hand on his shoulder and gave the young man a fatherly pat on the back.

The older children backed away so Gretl and Marta could come near. They had barely stopped crying since they had to leave their mother in the hills; Gretl didn't speak at all, just like after her mother died, and Marta said very little.

Sobbing, Marta stuttered, "We- we.. tried to sing about our favorite things but we just couldn't sing without you."

Maria tried to hug her, as best she could. "I'm here now, shall we try to sing?"

She started; "Raindrops on roses..."

Everyone joined in as they made their way inside. They sang about all those things which took away their sadness; many packages wrapped in brown paper, silly ponies and favorite things to eat. They began to smile and laugh as they added more of their favorite things.

Maria insisted they all go to church; to give thanks. As they came inside, the parish priest heard them; he came out of his study. Looking around his eyes fell on Georg and the woman he was carrying; he knew instantly she was his Maria.

They had just entered a pew to pray; he allowed them some time and then went and sat behind Georg and put his hand on his shoulder. "I see your prayers have been answered."

"Yes, Father, they have."

He went to the altar and brought forth the vessel filled with the reserved sacrament and offered it to them all; the little ones and Samuel received a blessing.

The good Father went outside with them and was properly introduced to Maria and Samuel.

The family stayed up late that night, nobody wanted to go to bed. Finally, Georg had to insist they do; "I assure you, your mother will still be here in the morning. Go get ready for bed and we will be up to kiss you good night."

And so the night ended for the children; after kissing each one, Georg took Maria to their bedroom. It was there in the soft light of the lamp that he held her and they both let fall all the emotions that were pent up in each of them. Georg kissed her gently; and she returned them similarly.

Maria was exhausted but she didn't want to let go of him. After a few minutes, Georg asked, "do you want to freshen up before bed?"

"Yes, can you help me? But I don't have anything to put on."

"I will help you and yes you do have something to put on; Liesl and I bought some things for you, we knew you would find a way to come back to us. Maria my faith has been tested; you helped renew it in the short months we've been married, without it I don't know what I would have done."

"Georg, we are so blessed."

Georg cleaned around Maria's wounds and helped her into bed. With hands entwined they fell asleep.

The bright light of the morning awakened them; they gave thanks once again to God for the wholeness of their family.

Georg helps Samuel send a telegram to his father, "Songbird – stop – safe – stop."

A few days later, Samuel is packed for his trip home. Georg gives him money, not only for his family but also for Dr. Abraham's services.

A telegram arrives in a few days. "Samaritan – stop – safe – stop."


	6. The Visitors

VISITORS

Maria was home alone when the telegram had arrived from Samuel telling them he was safe. She wanted to go to church to give thanks. She would have to wait; Georg and Friedrich had gone into town on an errand; and besides she didn't want him to carry her that far.

Waiting patiently on the porch, she saw two people on bicycles start up the hill. Georg was riding one with a seat attached to the back.

As he parked in front of the house, he heard. "What have you done, Georg?"

"Your chariot awaits my love."

Maria wanted to run down the steps and throw her arms around her husband and kiss him silly, but, alas she could not. Instead he came up to her and they kissed, and kissed and kissed some more.

Soon they heard, "hah, hum," like some one clearing their throat. They both looked and saw Friedrich standing there smiling.

Acting embarrassed, they smiled back.

"Oh, I almost forgot, we received a telegram from Samuel, he's safe. Take me to church, Georg. I want to pray there in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament."

"As I said, your chariot awaits."

Friedrich stayed behind to wait for the others to come home from their outing.

They were all waiting on the porch for their mother and father to return. The little ones were excited to see the bike seat, after their mother no longer needed, they could use it.

Now that they knew Samuel was safe, the older children began to reminisce about the time he had spent with them. The first time they had really talked to a Jew about their religion.

Liesl and Fredrich in particular; Liesl began. "I'm still amazed that he decided to recite a psalm – the 23rd no less; thinking it would calm Mother and allow her to know he was a friend and would do her no harm."

"I don't even know that psalm," Louisa said softly.

Friedrich continued. "He knows so much from the Torah. He told me he studied it in order to be confirmed, or as the Jewish people say, His Bar Mitzvah."

"Yes, and he told us so many stories from it. I knew a little about the Exodus, but they way he told it. It came alive – forty years in the dessert. Moses had his hands full with his people." Louisa added.

The children realized the importance of that number; forty days – the number Jesus spent in the dessert being tempted by the devil; and how that developed into the forty days of Lent – a time of fast and preparation for Easter.

"I never knew so much of our religion is from them. We are all descended from Abraham." Liesl sighed, as she continued; "then he told us about things happening right now in Austria."

The fear everyone, but mostly the Jews, felt about the Germans who now occupied Austria – albeit without a single gunshot – they just marched into towns and as the children knew, demanded that each house fly the flag with the "spider" on it.

Samuel had told them some of the families he and his parents knew, had left the country; but a few had disappeared without anyone knowing why.

The whole family held Samuel and his family as well a Dr. Abraham and his in their minds and hearts and daily prayers.

Two weeks had passed and Maria now felt strong enough to insist that Georg let her walk. "Georg, I'll never get stronger if you carry me everywhere."

"Oh, Maria, just humor me; I love to carry you. You'll have plenty of time to walk by your self when classes at the University start again next week."

She put both her arms around his neck; gave him a loving kiss; "Okay, I'll humor you."

He reached around her picking her up and held her in his arms; she giggled as he twirled her around, like he did on their wedding night.

The children had gone back to school to finish the year – although they missed a few weeks all were promoted. Now they had two months before school started again. This was a wonderful time for the family.

They lived so close to everything, the church, the market, their schools and the University; they made good use of their bicycles.

Several weeks had past. One day they were about to go into town; as they started down the hill they noticed a rather large group of people walking towards them.

Soon they heard, "Maria, Maria."

Maria stared at the group; the voice was familiar. "Samuel, Dr. Abraham." She said loudly.

Georg went quickly ahead to meet them. "Why are you all here?"

Samuel spoke, "we had to leave Captain before it was too late; terrible things are happening. Dr. Abraham was being watched."

"Captain, this is Dr. Abraham and his wife Ruth."

Sincerely shaking their hands, Georg spoke. "Thank you for what you did for Maria. I know you put you and your family in danger. I'm Georg."

"Maybe so Georg, but Samuel was the brave one and Maria too; she had faith that Samuel was a friend. Leaving Austria was the right thing to do."

Besides Samuel's parents and his brother David and sister Sarah, the others in the group were Dr. Abraham's brother, Paul and his wife Martha and his sister Rebecca and her husband Sampson, Sam, with their children Michel and Teresa.

Kurt and Friedrich went to the house to get some blankets to spread on the ground; they would sit in the sun and talk; while the children played. Liesl stayed by Maria's side as she had since her return.

"Where are you all staying?"

"For now in the Inn, we want to find houses as soon as possible," Peter told them.

"Dr. Abraham," he stopped Georg, "please call me Daniel."

"Sure, Daniel, I know Dr. Krause can use your help, there are a lot of refugees here, many have injuries."

The children played as if they had known each other for a long time. They were all around the same age. As usual, Marta and Gretl were still the youngest. Teresa was the closest to their ages and she played with them.

The adult women and Liesl cooked dinner for everyone. Before returning to the Inn, Daniel took Georg aside.

"Georg, I have letters for you and Maria. Elsa in one of my patients and I met Max through her."

Georg was intrigued; he expected to hear from Max, but Elsa.

Once the children were asleep, Georg and Maria sat alone discussing the events of the day. It was then they read the letters.

The first was from Max, Georg recognized his handwriting; as he opened it, another folded sheet fell out; on it was the name Liesl, but not in Max's handwriting.

"Maria, there's a separate letter for Liesl."

"Don't open it Georg, maybe Max will tell us about it."

Georg set it aside and began to read their letter:

Georg and Maria,

My heart sank when I learned of the incident in the Abbey Graveyard. At first I didn't know Maria had been shot. I learned about it from a most improbable source – Rolf himself.

Both Maria and Georg gasped, Maria clung to his arm.

He found me listening to a singing group in the Market Place. Yes, the Nazis still do let people sing – to show the world nothing had changed. Rolf remembered me from the telegram he delivered to me at your villa.

Whatever you said to him made a difference. Georg, he's now a member of the underground resistors.

I'm also sending you a letter he wrote to Liesl. He has changed, Georg, he really has.

I now know why you were so much against the Anschluss. Terrible things have happened; people have disappeared; businesses burned.

Then one day I met Elsa; she has changed too Georg. I'll let her tell you in her letter.

I don't have the money to help like Elsa does. I will just try to give some happiness to people through music.

All my best, take care my dear friends.

Max

They needed to pause before reading Elsa's letter. Maria had tears rolling down her face and Georg wasn't much better.

"God always provides a way for hearts to change, Georg."

He also knew this to be true.

Taking a deep breath, he started to read:

My dearest Georg and Maria,

While I was visiting Dr. Abraham for a small burn on my arm, I learned you, Maria, had been shot.

He told me how Samuel had found you. I hope you are doing well. Daniel thought you would be fine.

I cried Georg. It was then I knew you had been right all along. Now, I'm working for the underground - helping Jews leave the country.

Max and I were able to get inside your villa before it was occupied by the Germans. I have a lot of your private things; pictures, mementoes from Agathe, things from the children's births, your journal. We took a lot of clothes to the Abbey, Maria, for them to use for anyone in need.

Just so you know, Frau Schmidt, the cook and gardener are all fine. Frau Schmidt took much of the fine china and silver as she could. None of us wanted to leave things for the Germans.

I need to close, Daniel is waiting. Perhaps, one day we will get the chance to visit.

All my love,

Elsa

It was late, Maria knew they needed to go to bed; she still tired very easily, but she was too emotional. They decided to comfort each other and share some tea.

Their prayers that night were similar; praying for Austria but specifically for the Jewish people within its boundaries.


	7. Liesl

LIESL

It wasn't until the next evening that Georg and Maria found a time to be alone with Liesl; everyone else was in bed.

"Liesl, Dr. Abraham gave us some letters yesterday. They were from Max and Elsa.

In Max's envelope was a letter for you."

"Me, from whom?"

"It's from Rolf, Liesl," her mother told her.

"I don't believe it."

"It's true," her father said as he handed it to her.

She took it from him; "oh my gosh, I recognize his handwriting." Her hands were shaking.

"Mother, Father, can we read this together? I'm scared."

"Sure, do you want to read it?"

"No, Father, will you?"

He read:

Liesl,

I suppose you never want to have anything to do with me – for that I cannot blame you.

I was blind, Liesl. I had no idea the Germans were such bad people. Some of our Jewish classmates and their families have disappeared. I now know they want to kill all the Jews.

I'm so scared, but I'm fighting for the Jewish people – helping Baroness Schraeder with the underground escape routes and safe houses.

Liesl, please believe me, I do love you.

Please ask your father to send a telegram telling me everyone is safe.

Your code name is – sixteen.

All my love,

Rolf

Tears escape her eyes. Georg and Maria both put their arms around her and tried to comfort her.

"What should I do? She asks through her tears.

"First, I will send a wire – I think we owe him that much," her father told her.

"Liesl, learning forgiveness is hard, I know," Maria told her. "I've never told you everything about my childhood.

"My mother died when I was two. My father sent me to live with his elderly cousin. She was very kind and very religious. She took me to Church and made sure I made my First Communion.

When I was nine my father died, the court sent me to live with my uncle. He was not a nice man. He was an atheist, like a lot of people in Austria back then.

I stopped going to church; I hated god because I was treated so badly. I didn't even love myself.

One day I found some money that had fallen out my uncle's pocket while he slept; I took it and bought a train ticket to Vienna.

I entered the University for Teaching on an orphan's scholarship. I was poor but I learned that many churches had beautiful concerts. So I would go and listen to the music.

One Palm Sunday, a sermon changed my life. I found forgiveness in my heart and I thought my way to thank God was to become a nun – you know the rest of the story, Liesl."

Liesl now realized how strong her mother was; both physically and spiritually. "What do I do now?" She asked.

Liesl, you need to pray, give yourself time – time to find God's plan for you, just like He did for me."

"Think about it sweet Liesl," her father told her. "Your mother and I will always listen and help you with your questions."


	8. Samuel's Challenge

SAMUEL'S CHALLENGE

A week or so later, a telegram came for Liesl – it simply said "thank you." Liesl treasured it and really began to think about Rolf. She worried about him.

The Nazis read everything coming in or out of Austria. With the help of refugees living in Switzerland, the underground resistors in Austria established a network to secretly smuggle out letters. Samuel became part of that network. Once a month, he would drive to the village where he and Maria had stopped after they had crossed the border.

Samuel was alone driving to the safe drop, which was just inside the border between Switzerland and Austria. He had done this often and there never had been any problems.

The Austrians had a more dangerous task; the guards roamed the area often, but not usually late at night. There were several young men who did this dangerous service, including Rolf.

It was getting very late, later than usual. He began to hear moaning and noises like someone dragging themselves on the ground. Listening hard, he heard what sounded like someone struggling to breathe. He knew it was a person.

Samuel's breath caught in his throat, and then suddenly he heard, "sixteen, sixteen, help help."

"Sixteen," he knew that was Liesl's code name.

Turning up his lantern to full brightness, he walked toward the voice,

There lay a young man, terribly beaten. "Rolf," Samuel said as he gasped.

"Samuel?" spoken in a voice that was barely audible.

"Yes, it's me Rolf."

Samuel neither heard nor saw anyone around; his adrenaline kicked in and almost by himself, he got Rolf in the car.

He drove away from the border as fast as he could, stopping just outside the village. There Samuel made a sling for his broken arm and helped him sip some tea. Rolf laid on the backseat and Samuel continued their travel to Zurich.

It was early morning when they arrived. He drove straight to the doctor's office Dr. Abraham shared with Dr. Krause. Running into the office, he startled the doctors as he said, "at the safe drop I found a man beaten to a pulp, Rolf, Liesl's friend."

Samuel watched as the doctors examined him. He had never seen a man beat up like he was; Samuel was surprised he didn't have more broken bones. Rolf was very lucky, it would take time but he would heal. He spoke very little, except to say "don't tell Liesl, Samuel."

Samuel went home to sleep and later that evening he talked to his parents. "He doesn't want Liesl to know he's here. What should I do?"

"I think we should speak with Georg and Maria. They will help us."

For, now Rolf was staying with Dr. Krause. The doctor had an old friend who had helped him in the past; she offered to stay with him during the day.

In a few days, Peter and Ruth met Georg and Maria for lunch.

"At last week's mail drop, Samuel found more than letters and packages; he found Rolf."

Georg and Maria were stunned. "What happened?"

"We don't know everything, he hasn't said anything. He was badly beaten, probably left for dead; some how he crawled to the safe drop. His only words were 'don't tell Liesl.' "

"Oh my," Maria started, "she's really been thinking about him. I think she has forgiven him and has begun a letter to him."

"I think I need to talk Rolf," Georg suggested. "He needs to know how his letter has affected her; she's been doing a lot of thinking."

Georg asked Daniel. "How is he?"

"He's healing, the bruises and swelling are fading; his arm will be immobile for at least another four weeks. He's eating more each day."

"Has he told you anything?"

"No, Georg, not a thing. I think he wants to forget. But you know you have to talk sometime or it will always bother you."

"I think I'll go see him tomorrow morning. Liesl and Maria are taking the children to a special performance of the Madrigal Players."

The next morning, Georg arrives at Daniel's home where he introduces himself to Frau Klein. "Is he awake?"

"Yes, he just finished breakfast. Do you want me to announce you?"

"No, just tell him he has a visitor."

Georg cautiously entered his room. Rolf looks at him with surprise and remorse in his eyes. He bends his head down in shame.

"Rolf, we all need to face things we did in the past. You don't know me very well. After Liesl's mother died, I stayed away from my children; they reminded me too much of her. My new wife, Maria, helped me see how much they loved me and needed me.

"It's hard, but I can understand how many Austrians thought life would be better if the Germans ruled the country. Very few knew Hitler's real intentions.

"Rolf, you can't stay with Dr. Abraham much longer. Samuel's parents have offered to take you into their home. You also need to let Liesl know you are here; she's been writing you a letter.

"You don't need to answer me now, think about it. I'll come back in two days."

"Captain, thank you."


	9. Rolf's Decision

Rolf thought about his conversation with the Captain; his own father never talked with him about such matters.

One of the things he loved about Liesl was her love for her father and now for her new mother. She had a wonderful loving family – he never really had that with his parents.

He knew that was one of the reasons he was so taken with the Nazis – they talked to him and treated him like someone special.

Now, he wanted a real family.

Yes, he would stay with Samuel until he healed.

He would tell the Captain his decision.

Now, Liesl, he wondered what to do? He would ask the Captain or maybe Samuel's father – no – the Captain. His mind was made up.

Georg visited as he said he would.

"Captain, I've thought a lot about what you said – you were very honest with me – I need to be honest with you.

I could never talk with my father, he didn't have time for me; the Nazis did, they made me feel special.

Liesl loves you so much, even after her mother died. She's so strong; she would do anything for her family. I want that kind of a family.

How do I talk with her? I'm so scared."

"Be honest and truthful – don't expect her to be like she was, a lot has happened.

She's also scared."

"When Captain?"

"First, I'll tell Samuel's parents, then I'll talk to Liesl. I want to ask her how she would feel if one day she should see you again."

On his way home, Georg stooped to see Peter and Ruth and tells him of Rolf's decision.

Later, he talked with Liesl. "What would you do if you were to see Rolf?"

"Oh Father, I don't know. I'd like to know if he's okay. He said in his letter that he's a resistor – I know he is in danger."

"Pray about it – talk with your Mother."

Later that evening – "Well Maria, our children are growing up – and I think I've adopted another one – Rolf. Peter and I are like fathers to him.

"I know, Liesl told me about his family."

The next day Rolf went home with Peter and Samuel. "Sir, I will get a job as soon as I can to help pay for my care."

"Maybe so Rolf, we will talk again next week."


	10. The Meeting

The meeting

"Mother, can I send my letter with Samuel for the next safe drop?"

"Liesl, it's time you knew, Samuel found Rolf at the safe drop two weeks ago."

"What!" Her eyes got big and she sobbed. "Is he alright?"

"The soldiers beat him badly but he's better now and he will be fine, he's very lucky. How do you want to meet?"

"By ourselves – in the park. Can he walk?"

"Yes, but not well or too far. His broken arm is still immobile."

Samuel drove Rolf to the park, not too far from a bench. He made it there without too much difficulty. He sat and looked around. No one else was there.

Maria walked with Liesl to the park – she saw Rolf in the distance. Her heart was racing. "Mother, may I go alone?"

"Do you want me to stay nearby?"

"You don't need to – I'll be alright."

He hadn't seen her yet, she was about ten feet away when he turned to her. She stopped – their eyes met – slowly she walked to him.

"I'm so sorry Liesl, the pain I caused your family, especially your mother. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Mother has taught me a lot about faith and forgiveness. Forgiveness comes through faith and love, Jesus forgave the people who crucified him because, 'they knew not what they did.' The soldiers who shot mother are like that, they listened to people who have hate in their hearts instead of love."

"Yes, that's true Liesl; they filled our minds with lies. I know that now."

"Because Mother has forgiven you, so have I. We must go forward, one day at a time; build our trust and our bond. Hopefully the seed of love will sprout and grow to its fullest. We must try, Rolf."

"Liesl, I want to tell you what happened after I fled the Abbey – I ran. Ran as far away from any soldiers I saw – I hid for days. I never went home again. I lived on the street. That's where I eventually met Max."

"Mother let me read Max and Elsa's letters. I still can't believe that Elsa has some of our most precious memories in her possession; I hope someday we will have them."

"Rolf, what happened that night Samuel found you?"

"An informant who lives near the border saw me and reported me to the soldiers at the guard station on the main road. They beat me, I pretended to be unconscious. They were young like those in the Abbey and they ran away, thinking I was dead. Some how I was able to make it to the drop location and I used your code name to identify myself; I knew Samuel would recognize it."

"Rolf, it's getting late, I need to get home and help with dinner. Is Samuel coming back for you?"

"Yes, when he finishes helping the doctors. Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, Father and I can walk to your house on his way to the University."


	11. Good News

Good News

September came; all the children went back to school. Samuel and Friedrich were together in their last year of Secondary School.

Liesl had completed all the required courses to be considered officially graduated and ready for the University. She didn't mind that she didn't have a ceremony or a party. She had her family, everyone was together – that was more important than any party.

Rolf's arm had healed sufficiently for him to use it – but he needed to be very careful. He now had a job, working at the University Library as a clerk in the research department and the "keeper" of the research card catalog. He was also enrolled part-time at the University.

Rolf and Liesl's relationship was growing – they were still in the talking and sharing mode.

"You are very close to your mother, Liesl. How did that happen?"

"It was easy, that very first night when we got caught in the rain; I climbed up to an open window in her room. She caught me; covered for me when father asked where I was after dinner.

"Right from the beginning, I knew she wasn't like the other governesses. I watched her fall in love with father and him with her. It was like a fairy tale only it was real.

"She taught me a lot about trusting God and praying for his guidance. I think that was what got me through those days before she returned to us."

"You're fortunate to have had two mothers who love you. My mother just isn't like that even with my sister."

"For years, Rolf, the government tried to make everyone an atheist; but the people just prayed longer and more fervently; look at all the monasteries and churches in Salzburg alone."

"I'm very lucky, I now have two families to call my own, different yes, but both show me the strength in believing in God and his love.

"Liesl, I know for sure that I love you and hope to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Rolf, are you saying what I think you did – you want to be with me forever – marry me?"

Yes, Liesl; I'll wait as long as necessary – there's no rush. I just had to tell you."

"Rolf, I won't keep you waiting long, but I do need a little time."

With a sweet kiss, just like the night in the Gazebo, he got on his bicycle and headed for home.

She had no class this morning, so she could stay home with her mother.

After everyone was gone, she sat with her having a cup of tea.

"Liesl, you're quiet this morning. Anything wrong?"

"No, Mother everything is fine." She took a deep breath. "Rolf told me he wants to be with me forever."

"Forever Liesl, like marry you?"

"Yes."

"I see, did you give him answer?"

"No, I told him I needed some time."

"What do you think Father will say?"

"The same thing I am telling you – pray about it; listen to your heart."

"Is that what the Reverend Mother told you?"

"Yes, our situations are similar – I was afraid of my feelings towards your father and you have to accept the love of a changed Rolf."

"Mother, don't tell Father, until I have a chance to talk to Rolf again."

Maria nodded.

The next day they sat in another Gazebo, just a framed wooden structure by the lake in the park. She took his hands in hers.

"Rolf, I know you as the young man you are today. I had a school girl crush on you when I was fifteen. Today I love for you as a young woman whose eighteen going on nineteen. I accept your promise to be with me forever."

"Liesl, I prayed you would tell me this; I know I need to talk with your father; but I'm not worried; I like your father. I also want to take instruction in the Church, I want to share your faith."

Rolf wasted no time, the next day he knew the captain only taught one class. He found him alone in his office; he knocked on the door, it opened. "Sir."

Georg looked up in surprise – "Rolf, you look well. How do you feel?"

"Fine sir, do you have a moment?"

"Rolf, I always have time for you."

"You know Liesl and I have spent a lot of time talking over the last few weeks."

"Yes," Georg said expecting him to continue.

"Captain, I want to spend the rest of my life with Liesl – not soon- probably next year. First I want to get my own place and take instruction in the Church."

"I knew this day would come, I didn't know when. If you're asking me for permission – you have it. Your relationship has already survived its first trial. Remember keep your faith as the center of your relationship. Always talk to each other and never go to sleep angry.

"Would you like to have dinner with us – and surprise Liesl?"

They walked together. Georg put his hand on his shoulder; they walked up the hill to the house.

Liesl heard all the commotion on the porch from her brothers and sisters. She came out to see what was going on. She looked down the hill and saw – she knew – ran down the steps and grabbed Rolf's hand. "Father."

"Yes, Liesl," he gave her a kiss on the cheek as he passed.

"Thank you, Father." He smiled and went inside to find Maria.

"Well, I guess our daughter is spoiling our news." He said as he kissed Maria.

"That's okay, we'll share the day."

This wasn't the first time Rolf had had dinner with them. He had been there many times; all the children liked him.

After desert was served, Georg stood up. "Attention please – news of the day. In a year or so I will officially have another son; Liesl and Rolf plan to marry.

Rolf squeezed her hand, Liesl blushed. All the children smiled and applauded.

"And now for your mother's news."

"Mother's news?" they all said.

"Yes, I have news; Gretl what have you been wishing for?"

She yelled, "You're having a baby!"

"When Mother?" Liesl asked.

"Sometime in April."

The family lingered over desert. They talked about all kind of things; baby's names, wedding dates, graduation for Friedrich and Samuel. They were thankful and the future was bright.


	12. Refections

Reflections

Maria reflected one morning on all that had happened to the family. Their escape from Austria had been a harrowing experience; then the arrival of the others and finally, Rolf and Liesl; and now a baby on the way.

All the children had seemed to put the terror of their escape out of their minds and her return had seemed to brighten everyone except Louisa. Even though she and Friedrich had been the first to find her; since then she had become distant.

Maria was unsure how to help her. Then she remembered what she had been taught about helping a person to express their feelings – by keeping a diary or journaling as she liked to call it. She knew Georg kept a journal, he wrote so much he was always running out of pages. Louisa had talents separate from the others; she loved to draw and write stories.

"That's it," Maria said to herself, "I'll encourage her to write using pictures to help." Now, she needed to find time for just herself and Louisa to be together.

The other children spent many hours at their friends' homes; Friedrich and Samuel were inseparable. Kurt, David and Michel were like brothers; Brigitta, Marta and Gretl, sometimes, spent time with Sarah and Teresa. One afternoon it was just she and Louisa at the house. Maria knew this was her opportunity.

"Louisa, what's wrong honey? You seem so sad."

"Mother, I don't mean to be sad, I just can't help it. Everyone else have found new friends and I don't have any." She sniffled; held back real tears. "And now Liesl spends all her time with Rolf."

"Yes, you're right about that." Maria agreed.

"Louisa, do you talk to girls at school?"

"Oh, yes but I feel they don't understand everything that has happened to us. I want to tell them about our escape, but they don't want to listen."

"I have an idea. You have a writing assignment due next week, right?"

"Yes, to write a story about a family."

"Okay, does it have to be a fictional family?"

"No, any family." She looked at her mother. "You want me to write about our family?"

"Yes, in the form of a journal."

"Why a journal, Mother?"

"Because I think you would enjoy keeping a journal and this would be a great way to begin. Your father keeps one. Did you know?"

Yes, I know he does; can I use pictures in my journal?"

"It's your journal."

"I will start today. I'm going to begin the story right after mother died."

Louisa began to write. She wrote just like she would have written it as it happened; as a journal.

I was eight, scarlet fever killed my mother. It was a time of sadness for all of us. I don't even remember Christmas that year or most of the next year.

Father is a naval captain from the Great War. He rode in submarines. After the war, the submarines were not needed. He traveled a lot, but nothing made him happy. And then mother died.

Father was so sad he moved us to a house in Salzburg, hoping that would help.

Father tried to make us happy. He hired teachers and governesses. They didn't like each other, they taught us to play tricks; the teachers against the governesses.

We were now on governess number twelve; we had run off all the others. No more teachers, everyone went to school except Gretl.

Number twelve was from the Abbey, she wanted to be a nun. Father needed someone for the summer. Her name was Fräulein Maria. She looked barely older than Liesl.

Father used a Navy Whistle to call us; he always gave one to the governess. Fräulein Maria thought it was silly and then blew the whistle at Father. All the children were shocked and so was he.

That was just the beginning; she was different from all the others.

We only played two tricks on her, Kurt put a frog in her pocket the day we met her; and I put a pinecone on her chair at dinner. She never yelled at us, or stomped out of the house. She started to love us.

We were so happy during this time; and then Father brought the Baroness home with him. We were on the lake in a rowboat; everyone stood up and the boat rocked and threw us all in the water. Father was not pleased.

Everything started to change. Father heard us singing to the Baroness. He remembered the words and sang with us; then he hugged us.

Father was happy, we were happy.

Fräulein Maria knew Father planned on marrying the Baroness, she felt her work was done. She returned to the Abbey.

All of us cried and moped around, until one day Fräulein Maria returned. She would stay only until a new governess was found.

Father decided not to marry the Baroness; instead he married Fräulein Maria.

We left the house in the dark of night; Father did not want to be seen. The Nazis stopped the car. I was so scared. The man told Father he would take him away to serve in the Nazis' navy.

Louisa drew small pencil drawings, like in a newspaper to emphasize her feelings. In this drawing, she shows herself being scared; her eyes are very big as she tries to hold her breath waiting to see what will happen.

Father chuckled. Why is he laughing? I wondered. "Herr Zeller, we are on our way to sing in the festival tonight." That was true but Father wasn't going to sing, only us children. Herr Zeller believed him.

Father told us, "After we sing we will drive to the Abbey." The soldiers followed us, I could hear their sirens.

We hid in the graveyard behind the very large tombstones. I sat facing my mother. She was comforting Gretl. The soldiers looked with large lights, trying to see behind the stones.

The lights went away and it was very quiet. Father thought it was safe, but it wasn't. Liesl's boyfriend, Rolf, who was now a child soldier in the Nazi army, was waiting. Father opened the gate and walked toward him. Rolf was shaking, he pulled out his gun.

Father talked to him and motioned to mother to go to the car. As she turned, two other child soldiers appeared with guns drawn. They shot my mother. I was terrified; all I could think was that she was going to die.

I fell to the ground behind my brother and sister who were trying to help my mother. Father had grabbed Rolf's gun and now told Fredrich to get everyone in the car. He picked up my mother; placed her in the car and sped away.

Soldiers were everywhere. Father drove off the road into the hills. He stopped and helped my mother; making a bandage from his shirt. The car could go no further; we would hide in the hills. But soldiers caught up to us. My mother fell; she couldn't walk; Father tried to carry her but the soldiers were getting closer.

I heard mother say, "go on Georg, save the children, God will protect me." She said that twice; with tears in his eyes he hid her behind some large boulders in a nest of trees.

We ran as fast as we could; the soldiers did not follow us. We stood around Father in silence. "Pray children, we must pray."

The moon was bright that night; we could see where we were going. Father spotted a run down shack. Calming us all down, we huddled together while he walked to the shack. Finding it empty, we slept there.

In the very early morning, as the moon went down, a few of the brightest stars remained visible. Father, used the stars to find the direction to walk.

It wasn't long before Father saw a farmhouse. Once again, he went on ahead. The man was startled to see seven children with him. He shared with us a simple meal. Then he was most generous. He offered to take us to the border on a horse drawn cart.

And that's how we crossed the border into Switzerland. Father offered to pay him but he would not accept it. "It's my Christian duty to help you." He told us.

We rested for a day, but Father wanted to get away from the border. We took a bus to Zurich.

"Mother, please read my story; tell me if it's okay."

Maria read it. It was hard for her not to cry. "Louisa's this is very good. Will you read it in class?"

"Yes, Mother, everyone has to read their story."

The day came, Louisa stood proudly as she read her story. The classroom fell silent when she finished. No one had a dry eye.

Afterwards many of the children came to her saying; "we had no idea Louisa, thank you for being brave enough to share it with us."

From that day on Louisa had friends, not just because they felt bad for her, but they really liked her. They all wanted to know the rest of the story. Louisa, simply told them, "God sent a Good Samaritan, Samuel, who brought her home. Friedrich and I were the first to see her, sitting on a bench across from the market."

Her Mother bought her a beautiful journal. She copied her story for school into it and has added to it every day.


	13. ELSA & MAX

Elsa and Max

Elsa was playing with fire – she socialized with the Germans – to help maintain her status in Vienna. She kept all her homes. Secretly, she worked for the underground; recruited friends to help find safe passage for the Jews out of Austria. With proper papers she was able to travel freely. Max maintained his neutrality, while secretly supporting all efforts to help the Jewish people.

News of Maria's pregnancy and the unofficial engagement of Liesl and Rolf had reached them through the underground. Before the weather got too bad, they decided to visit. They really couldn't give Georg any notice.

By this time the Swiss were monitoring the emigration of Jews to their country. All strangers were observed and forced to prove their reason for being in the country. Max was an experienced driver. He served his required time in the Austrian Army as a Lieutenant's driver. He had contacts from the underground who had mapped out their route. In spite of all the check points, Elsa and Max made it safely to Zurich.

The locals directed them to the von Trapp home. As they drove up the hill, they spotted a large number of children playing in the field near the house – many more than seven. Louisa spotted the car and ran into the house to tell her father. "Father, there's a fancy car coming up the hill. Come see."

The car was just stopping in front of their house – within seconds Max was out of the car. The children had all started toward house when they heard; "Max, my goodness, how are you?" And then Georg saw Elsa emerge from the other side. "Elsa!"

Hearing all the shouting, Maria came out on the porch. "Elsa, Max, what a pleasant surprise!"

Max admired the children and all their friends; they crowded around him.

"I see you have made a lot of friends."

"Yes, Uncle Max; friends from Salzburg and also from school." Friedrich acknowledged.

Then he saw Maria. He rushed up the steps to kiss her hand like he always did.

"What a pleasant surprise, Max." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she went down the steps to greet Elsa.

"You look wonderful, Maria!"

"Thank you Elsa, I feel wonderful."

"I heard you're soon to be a mother yourself. How do you feel?"

"Yes, you heard right; and I'm fine; not even morning sickness, just a little tired."

Elsa was over whelmed with the pleasant interactions with the children – what happened before was now in the past.

Dinner was a lively time; a time for sharing. After the younger children went to bed, which was later than usual; Liesl, Rolf, Friedrich and Louisa were allowed to join the adults.

"Baroness Schraeder, do you really have some of our personal things we left behind?"

"Yes, Liesl, in fact I have a travel bag with some of them with me." She looked at the boys. "would you two like to get it from the trunk?"

"Yes, ma'am."

When the boys returned; Georg realized Elsa and Max must be tired. "Let's wait until morning to look at everything."

"You are staying with us? Maria asks.

"Are you sure you have room?"

"Of course, Liesl can sleep with Louisa and Max can have the spare room."

The next day was Saturday; everyone was home to look at their mementoes. The most important were their family pictures – including some with Agathe. Maria was very glad the children had them; she never wanted them to forget her.

After breakfast, Georg and Max took a walk. "How are things at home?"

"Miserable – it's becoming more difficult to get Jews out of the country, even the Swiss are sending them back."

"Yes, I had heard that; it seems our friends were the last ones to be left alone; maybe because, Daniel is a doctor and the others teachers. There may come a time when we will need to go to America. The war will be all around us. Hopefully, not until the baby is born."

Max and Elsa stayed a few days; Georg received a telegram telling him they had returned safely.

Max had convinced Georg to allow the children to at least sing in church and at school. Maria had no idea what that experience would mean in the future.

Liesl and Rolf were planning an early summer wedding – the baby would be two months old and school would be out.

"Mother, did you know Elsa has your wedding gown?"

"No, she didn't tell me. Do you want to wear it?"

"Yes Mother, I really want to. Elsa told me they hoped to visit again in the spring and she would bring it with her."

Maria embraced her; tears were in both of their eyes. They shared a true mother and daughter moment.


	14. Planning

Christmas Plans

Georg's mind did not rest after Max and Elsa returned to Austria. Sitting in his office one day, Georg contemplated the state of the world around him. He wasn't sure he would be safe in Switzerland. He began to make plans, at least in his mind, to go to America. First, he needed to find a sponsor.

Later that night, he shared with Maria his conversation with Max and what he was thinking.

"Maria, I don't like to think this way but I feel there may be a time when we have to go to America. Soon, I'm afraid the war will be all around us. I'm not sure if I will be safe here."

"Before the baby comes?"

"No, I think we will be able to wait until after Liesl and Rolf marry."

"I hope so."

The weight of Georg's planning weighed heavily on Maria's mind. She also knew that Christmas, since Agathe died had been very difficult for Georg and the children. She had hoped that this year would be different. It was going to be different but in a way totally unexpected.

They would still find happiness and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas – but extravagant decorations, elaborate parties and an abundance of presents were not in the plans. The children were actually enjoying their new home and friends. The excitement of a baby and a wedding next year seemed to help.

Meanwhile, Georg started to make plans. The exploits of the famous submarine commander from the first Great War did not go unnoticed by those on the winning side. In fact both the British and the Americans spoke highly of him in their naval academies.

Georg decided to request the assistance of the Naval Academy in America. He would explain that he wanted to share his knowledge of submarine warfare as well as commanding a multicultural crew. Therefore, he began to write his letter of request.

It was music that had brought Maria and the children close; she wanted them to sing again; it wasn't that they never sang. Occasionally she would hear, "raindrops on roses…." or do, re, me." She even heard Georg humming Edelweiss, but that wasn't enough. She wanted them to sing as a group, they had very good harmony. Maria had an idea; she would start a chorus at their school.

It was Georg's afternoon off. "Georg, can you take me to the children's school on the bike?"

"Of course, any special reason?"

"I want to talk to the principal about starting a chorus."

He chuckled, "I know Max talked to you about them singing. Maria, I don't mind if they sing with other children; just not on a stage for money."

"I know that, darling." She gave him a kiss, Maria hopped on the seat and they were off. Maria always had to hang on tight as they went down the hill; Georg always took it a little fast.

"I'll wait for you on the bench by the lake."

The principal, Frau Meyers, was excited about her interest in a chorus. "Maria, our music teacher retired last year and we have found no one to replace her. If you could help that would be wonderful. Let me show you the music room." The room was a tad dusty but it had everything Maria could want, a piano, hand bells, a guitar and two recorders, one alto the other soprano.

The next day, Frau Meyers announced to the teachers that Maria von Trapp wanted to start a chorus – signs were posted everywhere. During morning announcements the children were told. Soon there were over twenty names on the list – including all the von Trapp children.

Liesl's classes were mostly in the mornings. She would come home after lunch, which she ate with Rolf before he went to work. One day Maria asked her, "Liesl, would you like to help me with the chorus at school?"

"What do you need me to do?"

"Well, Liesl, you know my ankle still bothers me when I walk a long distance. Can you take me on the bicycle?"

"You know I will; what else, Mother?"

"The music room had a piano and a guitar. I already know you can play the guitar; it seems I remember your father telling me you took piano lessons for awhile. Did you?"

"I did, but I could never play like mother or father. But I'd love to be able to play the guitar again."

"Liesl, you don't give yourself enough credit, I bet with a little practice you could play simple songs."

"Maybe, you're right, I'll try."

The chorus practiced twice a week for an hour. They prepared for a holiday party, celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah. Liesl did remember and played a few simple songs beautifully.

Maria asked subtle questions of the older children – trying to find out about Christmas celebrations in the past; especially since Agathe died.

"Louisa, what are some of your favorite memories about Christmas. Were they always the same?"

She paused before she spoke. "The house staff decorated every year. Frau Schmidt made sure we made our lists – but we never asked for much after mother died. There were no parties; no music."

"Tell me then – What would you want Christmas to be like this year?"

"Happy, thankful and full of music and our new friends."

"Is that how your brothers and sisters feel, too?"

"I think so."

Maria knew she didn't need to ask the others – yes, there would be music and parties and an Advent Wreath. She planned to also share Hanukkah with their Jewish friends.

Advent started next Sunday, she needed to work fast.

"Georg, I want this to be the best and most meaningful Christmas the children have ever had."

"What do you have in mind, Maria?"

"The very first thing – we need to make an Advent Wreath."

"Tell me about it."

"We need lots of vine, purple, white and rose colored ribbon; four candles. A round sturdy base, like from a basket or a wagon wheel. And some lightweight rope to use to hang it."

"Sounds like a project for Saturday. I'll get Kurt and his friends to go with me. I haven't spent much time with him recently."

"I'm sure he would like that."

"Now, tell what do we do with this wreath?'

"We light the candles on Sundays, you read the gospel reading, and I'll read the prayer for that Sunday. We will all sing an Advent Carol."

He smiled at her. "We are so blessed, Maria – your faith is always teaching us. Now, I'm sure there's more, I see it in your eyes."

"Yes, I want to plan a Hanukkah party with Ruth and of course a big celebration on Christmas Eve for the family."

"Maria, you're pregnant! – are you sure?"

"Oh, Georg, I'll be fine. I feel wonderful. I'll slow down after January sixth."

"Why that date?"

"The Feast of the Epiphany – one last party – to celebrate the Wise Men visiting Jesus."

"Well, that's a lot." He kissed her on the nose. "I think it's time for bed."

Saturday was a beautiful day for cutting vines and fur tree limbs. Georg and the boys, Kurt, David and Michel had a marvelous time; finding the best vines and fauns of fur leaves for their Advent Wreath.

Maria sat on the porch overseeing the making of the wreath. It was exactly as she wanted. In the living room, Georg found the perfect place to hang it. Not too high, after all they did need to be able to light the candles.

Maria had changed just a few words to an old favorite, instead of "Oh, Christmas Tree," it became "Oh, Advent Wreath."

O Advent Wreath, O Advent Wreath

You hang for all to see  
>Four candles do you burn<br>To tell the story that  
>The Savoir will soon be here.<br>O Advent Wreath, O Advent Wreath  
>You hang for all to see<p>

O Advent Wreath, O Advent Wreath

You are the wreath most loved!  
>How often you give us delight<br>In brightly shining Christmas light!

O Advent Wreath, O Advent Wreath

You are the wreath most loved!

O Advent Wreath, O Advent Wreath

Your beauty bright will teach me  
>That hope and love will ever be<br>The way to joy and peace for me.

O Advent Wreath, O Advent Wreath

Your beauty bright will teach me

With the verses written on paper, the family all joined her in singing the song.

That being done, Maria concentrated on the Hanukkah party.


	15. Hanukkah Party

HANUKKAH PARTY

Maria knew Hanukkah commemorated the victory of a band of Jewish warriors, the Maccabees, over the Syrian king Antiochus almost 2,500 years ago. After driving out the Syrians, the Maccabees reoccupied the Temple of Jerusalem, where they found enough oil to keep the all-important "Eternal Light" shining for only one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, the reason for the eight days of Hanukkah, which means rededication.

Maria planned a lunch for her friends, Ruth, Martha and Rebecca. She knew they would help her. After enjoying a simple meal, Maria inquired of her friends their ideas for a Hanukkah Party.

"A Hanukkah Party, Maria, are you sure?" Ruth asked in surprise, "a Christian celebrating one of the Jewish holidays."

"Ladies, I am so blessed to have you as friends, my children love yours and I think they all would love to celebrate together." Maria explained to them.

"It would be on Saturday afternoon, that would leave you time for your own family's celebrations at home."

The ladies planned. Rebecca offered to help Maria decorate. "Maria, I know you feel well, but I insist you not climb on chairs or ladders to decorate." Maria laughed. "I'm sure Georg would agree with you."

"Okay, how many dreidels do we have?" Ruth asked. "I'm sure we have three", Martha answered. With two more from Ruth and Rebecca, they had more than enough. This wasn't a game just for children, adults enjoyed it as well.

"Maria, the main food is always potato latkes fried in oil – the oil represents the oil found in the temple." Martha continued – "We will need a lot of potatoes." The latkes were served with applesauce and sour cream.

"What else?" Maria asked.

Beef brisket with carrots and celery, jelly doughnuts and sugar cookies baked in the shapes of a Dreidel, a menorah and a Star of David completed the menu.

"I know the dreidel song, Samuel taught it to the children already, as well as _O' Hanukkah, O' Hanukkah_." Maria added.

Ruth added. "We definitely need to sing _Rock of Ages_, _I am a little Dreidel_ and our children could sing _Eight Candles_."

Saturday, Friedrich and Samuel went with Peter to the festival in the park. Samuel had been asked to play the guitar with a group. Louisa was with all the girls. She took them to a ballet at a nearby theater. Georg and Sam took the boys to a traveling exhibit of model ships.

The house was empty. The women could decorated and cook. With no men or children underfoot, Maria, Liesl and the others made the house gorgeous; colors of white, blue and silver were everywhere. The dreidels and the coins were placed on tables and extras for the children to play with on the floor. Beverages for children and adults were ready and waiting.

They sang all their songs with gusto; they could be heard outside.

Dinner was finished. Desert coffee and hot cider for the children were served along with the sugar cookies in Hanukkah designs and jelly doughnuts, a tradition from Israel.

After singing the final songs, _Rock of Ages_ and _Eight Candles_; the families headed for home having felt blessed by the friendship of the von Trapp family; each to their own home to celebrate the last night of Hanukkah.


	16. Advent

ADVENT

With their Advent Wreath hanging over the dining room table, Maria began to complete her preparation for the season. Advent was the beginning of the Church's liturgical year; it was also a time of reflection and preparing one's heart to accept that "love came down from heaven in the form a baby."

Each day took on new meaning, not just the Sundays of Advent. Maria didn't want to purchase an Advent Calendar, all that she had ever seen focused too much on getting presents rather than on preparation for the Christ Child. She made her own.

After the children went to school, she went to work. The heavy piece of material she had bought was a beautiful shade of deep blue. She cut twenty-eight windows into the material, leaving the flap attached to hide what was behind the window. On heavy paper she wrote the numbers one through twenty-eight, cut each one out and glued it on the flap.

Maria then took a large piece of paper and carefully marked it with all the windows. Then very carefully she wrote a reference to scripture. With the paper and material joined together, a wooden rod was placed in the pocket she had sewn at the top. A piece of yarn attached to the ends of the rod that was used for hanging it.

Georg came home early for lunch and found her working on it.

"Maria, is this another one of your surprises?"

"Yes, Georg, too often everyone looses focus about the true meaning of Christmas. I remember walking through the "Christkindlesmarket" in Salzburg, so many beautiful things to buy, vendor after vendor."

"Yes, Maria it is easy to get caught up in that side of Christmas."

The first Sunday of Advent was the day after the Hanukkah party. After the Hanukkah decorations were taken down, the wreath was hung again and Maria put up the Advent Calendar.

Sunday morning came, "Look children, another one of my gifts to help you learn about Advent, an Advent Calendar." Every morning we will open a window and read a scripture verse."

"Can everyone read the verses?" Brigitta asked.

"I don't see why not."

"I see. It also helps us know how many days, first to St. Nicolas Day then until Christmas." Kurt added.

"May I read today's' verse?" Brigitta asked as she went over to the table and picked up the Bible.

"Brigitta, you know how to use the Bible."

"Yes, I have my Mother's Bible and I read it all the time."

Georg and Maria looked surprised, but said nothing. "The verse for today is from Isaiah, chapter 7, verse 14."

Turning right to it, she read, "Therefore the Lord will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel." Brigitta went on to say, that means Mary will have a baby, the Christ Child."

Everyone was amazed, Maria was like Mary, she took this in and pondered it in her heart, Brigitta was so much like her.

Later at dinner, Georg lit the first candle, read the Gospel and Maria said the first advent prayer. The songs of Advent were different, not the joyful song of Christmas carols. That didn't mean they were sad or mournful, just reflective and full of anticipation of the Christ Child. Actually, Maria taught them some cute fun songs. Just like the song about the Advent Wreath.

One used a very familiar tune, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; the children sang it all the time.

Advent is a time to wait, not quite time to celebrate.  
>Light the candles one by one, 'til this Advent time is done.<br>Christmas Day will soon be here, time for joy and time for cheer.

Maria had another surprise for the family; a larger red candle burned brightly in the center of their dining table. "Mother, why another candle?" Kurt asked.

"It is the Advent Candle, a symbol of Christ, as the light of the world. We will light it every night during dinner."

As was tradition in Austria, on December 6, St. Nicolas Day, the children made their lists. They were like a letter to Santa, but they believed the Christ Child came down from heaven and brought their gifts. But they still needed to be good children.

Liesl and Friedrich felt a responsibility to help their brother and sisters with their lists, they didn't want them to ask for too many things; tried to convince them to ask for only one thing. They talked. "We're too old to make a list, Friedrich, besides we know mother and father buy all the gifts." Having both agreed, they went to find their brother and sisters.

The last two weeks of Advent were very busy. Maria and Georg went shopping. They brought with them the children's lists. Even without a list from Friedrich and Liesl, Maria and Georg went shopping for everyone.

"Maria, I want to get each one something very special but that they can easily take with them if we ever need to leave Switzerland."

Maria took a deep breath; she wanted to hide her anxiety from Georg. "That's a wonderful idea, darling. What do you have in mind?"

"For Friedrich, a watch, I believe he's old enough now to take good care of it."

"I wonder how Liesl would feel if I gave her my mother's pearl necklace, I know they're not new."

"I think she'd love it, Maria."

"Louisa asked for a new journal, she's almost filled up the one she has." Maria added.

They went into a stationary store to buy the journal. Georg spotted a map of the constellations. "Maria, this is perfect for Kurt, he loves to star gaze. When we were hiding in the hills, he was up the next morning with me looking at the sky as I found our direction to travel. It comes with a case so that it would be protected." Maria smiled and thought to herself, it's perfect. Kurt had actually asked for a book on constellations.

Brigitta was next on the list, she asked for a rosary.

"Georg, of all the children, Brigitta's request is the most surprising. How did she develop such a prayer filled life? And reading the Bible?

I'm not sure Maria; I didn't even know she had Agathe's Bible."

Maria was most pleased. She found a pink pearl rosary for her.

Last were presents for Marta and Gretl. Maria knew Liesl had helped them with their lists. Marta was growing up and she no longer want to have braids; she need barrettes to keep her hair in place. At a hat store, of all places, Maria found a set of mother of pearl barrettes.

Georg read Gretl's list. "I want a picture book for Mass." They both paused for a moment. "Maria, what else can we give her? She's still my baby."

Maria touched his cheek and gave him a kiss, "she'll always be your baby, even after this one is born." She said as she patted her tummy.

In the religious store Maria found an angel doll, it was soft and cuddly; "this is perfect, Georg."

They returned home that afternoon, knowing that Christmas indeed was going to be special.

Now, Maria turned her attention to the family's Christmas Eve party. Then she realized Rolf needed a gift; she solved that in a hurry, either a Bible or a prayer book.

And her gift for Georg; writing in her beautiful almost monk-like script, Maria wrote him a letter.

The weeks of Advent seemed to go by so fast. The Church Choir had prepared many advent hymns and Maria had sung the beautiful Magnificat from the Gospel of Luke.

The angel Gabriel from Heaven came,  
>His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;<br>"All hail," said he, "thou lowly maiden Mary…

Everyday they had read a Bible verse, each of the children, including Gretl had a turn.

Soon it would be Christmas Eve.


	17. Christmas

CHRISTMAS EVE

There were four days until Christmas Eve. Maria sat looking out the window. When Georg came down the stairs, he noticed her. Her body language told him something was troubling her.

He made his presence known so as not to scare her; he put his hand on her shoulder, she placed her hand on top of his.

"Something wrong, Maria?"

"Not really wrong, Georg, Come sit with me."

"I was told that our three middle children no longer believe that the Christ Child brings their presents. Louisa told me. I expected it from her and Kurt but not Brigitta too."

"Maria, the world has changed; our escape from Austria was just the beginning. We have tried to hide our concern but children are more sensitive than we think. They sense the tension as well."

"Yes, I know that. I had so hoped to make this Christmas extra special."

"You have, Maria, the children have enjoyed every minute of Advent. I hear them singing all the songs you have taught them. And the Hanukkah party was a huge success; the Dreidel games and the food and yes Kurt especially loved the food. The party at school with the chorus singing all their songs was so much fun for all the children. Now, what do you need me to do for Christmas Eve. I already have our tree picked out."

"You do?"

"I was walking in the woods one day and found the perfect one, not too big. If we move the big chair from in front of the window; it will fit perfectly. Maria, I was talking with the visiting professor from America, he told me that in America the whole family helps decorated the tree. Do you think the children would like that idea?"

"Oh, yes, Georg, we could decorate all afternoon and then get ready for the children's Mass." Georg was grateful that Maria's spirits were lifted, he never liked to see her sad.

Christmas Eve arrived, the children were all excited. Early in the morning Georg and the boys went to the woods to cut down their tree. It was heavy; it took the three of them a long time to bring it home.

The girls started stringing popcorn and berries. They also made paper chains in colors of white and blue. Wrapped candies in gold and silver were made ready to hang by sewing a heavy thread on one end. A few candles were ready to be tied on the ends of the sturdiest branches. Georg secured the tree in a large bucket and placed it in front of the window.

When the tree was all decorated, they made a half circle around the tree and sang; using with the real words to _O, Christmas Tree_, and then some other fun songs Maria had taught them.

The family stepped outside to a lightly falling snow; it was beautiful as they walked to church. The von Trapp children and a few others sang many familiar carols; Brigitta, Marta and Gretl sang, _Away in the Manager_; Liesl and her mother sang, _O Holy Night._ The congregation sang _Hark the Herald Angels Sing_. And finally with only guitars, played by Liesl and Maria, the service concluded with _Silent Night._

Silently, the tired children walked home. Georg walked ahead of everyone and quickly lit the candles and placed their presents around the tree.

Every child was lovingly grateful for their gift. Georg and Maria did not share their gifts with each other until after the children went to sleep.

Georg handed her a small box. "Please open it and then I'll explain."

Maria opened the box; inside she found an elaborate jeweled broach. "Georg, she exclaimed; it's such an expensive gift!"

"Not really Maria, yes, the stones are all real; this was a present to Agathe after Gretl was born, it was one of the few pieces of jewelry of hers I kept. The diamond in the middle comes from a ring belonging to my grandmother; each stone represents a child, their birth stone; I will add a stone for the baby after it's born and there is room for more, if we are so blessed."

"Oh, Georg, I will wear it with pride." And then shyly she gave him a beautiful piece of parchment she had rolled like a manuscript of old and had tied it with a thin blue ribbon.

Georg took it and read it:

My dear Georg, my sea captain, my love,

This is our first Christmas together; the day that love came down from heaven in the body of a baby; born from purity.

That love inspired men and women to find one another to perpetuate that love in mankind; the love that we share between us. Or as the poem says, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

When did I first love you? I told you it was when you blew your whistle and that's true, but that wasn't the kind of love I have for you today. I saw in you hidden love. And it was my duty to renew your faith in love.

Remember love is tolerant and patient, it is kind and it is free of jealousy and pride. Love was waiting for the proper time to show you once again that it protects and trusts, perseveres and hopes; all qualities that you brought forth in yourself.

The day you realized the endless boundaries of love; God's love that has no boundaries was the day we first loved. Love is an action and a choice. It wasn't really a day, as we think of a day, but it was a length of time that God moved between us fostering that love.

Today I feel your love in so many ways; you are my protector, you love me the way you love yourself. When I thought you may be angry with me, you never were; when I thought you were tired, you still took care of me.

The day our love was tested beyond our capacity to understand has only shown us that love triumphs over everything.

"I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. I love you freely, I love you purely and I love you with passion, simply pure. I love thee with the breath, smiles, and tears of all my life."

And this is my present to you this Christmas, my love; the greatest thing that God ever gave us was his love and now I give you all the love that is within me.

Your faithful and loving wife,

Maria

His emotions over ran his eyes, for a moment he could not speak. "Maria, this is proof, you have made this the best Christmas ever. My love for you is so deep, I don't have the words."

They embraced. tThe two sat together and watched as the candles burnt out and talked about their future.

On Christmas morning the family woke a little later than usual. It was a Holy Day, before breakfast they went to Mass. The children knew all the carols that were sung, Maria had practiced them all with the choir. The parishioners marveled at their abilities to sing in harmony.

Father Josef even commented, "I hope you will all sing that well at Easter." He looked at Maria, "Easter is late this year; hopefully you will have had the baby by them."

"I hope so, too."

Maria thought the children would be restless, it wasn't often they were all home at the same time and no one had any friends with them.

Liesl and Rolf were content to sit and talk.

"Liesl, did you pick out my gift?"

"No, Mother did."

"Well, it's perfect; it's both a Missal and a Bible. You know on the Easter Vigil, I will be baptized and then confirmed, Father Josef received special permission to confirm me."

"Yes, Rolf that will be a wonderful day. I love the pearl necklace mother gave me, it's so beautiful."

Then she asked, "Mother, is it alright if we walked to Samuel's house?"

"Just be home in time for dinner?"

Kurt and Brigitta were playing cards; Gretl and Marta had built an indoor house and were playing "family," as they called it.

Friedrich and Georg were discussing his future. Since he was little boy, Friedrich had dreamed of being a doctor. Ever since Maria was shot, he knew for sure that's what he wanted to do.

Louisa was writing pages in her journal.

Maria was sitting off in the distance admiring her family and praising God in her heart for the happiness they had brought her.


	18. The request

THE REQUEST

Georg's letter to Rear Admiral David Sellers, Superintendent of the Naval Academy was almost complete. A visiting professor from America helped him with his English. Georg had a talent for learning languages but English proved to be a challenge. Right after the holidays he mailed it.

Georg and Maria had talked regularly about his plans but they had not shared them with the children.

"There was no need to worry them," he had told Maria and she had agreed.

Near the end of January, Georg received a letter sent to him at the University. The postmark was clearly visible; US NAVY – his heart seemed to stop as he opened it.

Captain,

After much deliberation and with the approval of the Departments of Defense and State, we are pleased to offer you a position on staff at the Naval Academy. Details to follow…

"Thank you, Jesus;" or as Maria would say, "you've opened a window."

That night in the quiet of their bedroom, he told her.

"Maria, we have a sponsor to go to America."

"We do," she said expectantly.

"Yes, the US Naval Academy, I will be on their staff."

Without warning tears ran down her cheeks. Georg reached around her and held her close, kissing her temple. "I understand."

He held her for a long time before he spoke. "We have at least twelve weeks, six or seven until the baby is born and another six to be sure you and the baby are doing well. Liesl and Rolf need to marry before we leave; maybe they can have a couple of days for their honeymoon."

Maria regained her composure, "We need to tell them and Friedrich, soon. We will need them to help us." Maria added.

"Yes, we need to find a good time."

Later that week, she heard Liesl. "Mother, Rolf is coming over. We're going to review together for our mid term exam."

"That's fine. Friedrich is also staying home this morning to study."

Georg had been standing on the stairs listening to the conversation. "Good," he said in a whisper.

The children all took a break at the same time. Before Liesl and Rolf could walk outside, her Father spoke to them. "Your Mother and I would like to talk to both of you and Friedrich." Hearing his name, "yes, Father."

Georg had thought about this conversation; he wanted to be calm. He didn't want to scare them. He formed his words very carefully. "The news about the Nazis' power is very bad. They are forcing more countries to join them, or have willingly done so, like France and Italy. Soon Switzerland may be surrounded by the enemy; I may not be safe here."

They all gasped, "What does that mean?" Liesl asked.

"It means we have to go to America."

"America!" the three said together.

"Yes, we will be sponsored by their government. I will be on staff at the Naval Academy."

"We understand, Father, just so we are all together and safe," Friedrich told him.

"I'm sorry to do this, but you can't tell anyone, no one, not even your brother or sisters. If you need to talk, talk to your mother or me. Is that understood?" He said firmly.

"Yes, Father" and "Yes, Captain," Rolf whispered.

"We won't leave until six weeks after the baby is born." Maria added. "That gives us plenty of time to plan your wedding, Liesl. Nothing will change, it will be beautiful, I promise."

Liesl got up and sat beside her Mother She took her hands in hers, "I have faith, Mother, I don't need anything fancy."

Maria recalled saying those same words to Georg. Before she could respond, Georg did. "No, Liesl, you plan the wedding of your dreams, I insist." Overwhelmed with emotions, all she could mumble out was, "thank you."


	19. Barbara Augusta

BARBARA AUGUSTA

The New Year was welcomed by all; although Georg and Maria knew that this year would bring more changes to their family. Two very happy changes, a baby and a wedding; but their uncertain future weighed heavily on their minds.

As Maria had promised Georg, she started to slow down after January sixth – The Epiphany. She only planned a family gathering, a nice dinner and the reading of the scripture, the wise men story from the Gospel of Mathew and two contemporary writings. The story of The Fourth Wise Man by Henry van Dyke and a story Maria had been told by one of the nuns at the Abbey. A story about a poor boy who came along with the wise men but had no gift, except the gift of a song; a Lullaby. And Maria sang for them:

Lullaby, Jesus,  
>My sweet little treasure,<br>Lullaby, Jesus,  
>My joy beyond measure.<br>Lullaby, Jesus,  
>My dear jewel sleeping,<br>Mary is holding you,  
>Watching, and keeping.<p>

Sleep now, my Little One,  
>Dear Baby Jesus,<br>Sleep now, my Little Son,  
>Cherished One, sleep now.<br>Lullaby, Jesus,  
>My dear jewel sleeping,<br>Mary is holding you,  
>Watching, and keeping<p>

"That is so beautiful, Mother. Please teach us?"

Maria accommodated Marta's request. It also became her and Gretl's favorite lullaby to sing at night.

The winter quickly changed to early spring; Maria enjoyed the lovely afternoons for her walks. Her pregnancy was fine, but she was beginning to get very uncomfortable. By the middle of March, she had developed a lot of back pain. Georg would massage her back every night; to help her sleep.

This baby decided not to wait until April, on March 25th there was a lot of excitement in the house. Maria was in labor. Friedrich went to bring Dr. Abraham to the house. The news that Maria was in labor quickly spread among their friends; Martha alerted everyone before she followed her husband to help. Ruth would come later after she had prepared a meal for the family.

Martha shouldn't have been surprised to find Georg by Maria's side, but she was, Jewish women didn't want their husbands to see them suffer.

Georg was doing just fine; after all he had witnessed the birth of all of his children. He had taught Maria to breathe through each "pain" trying not to waste her energy on fighting them. Dr. Abraham encouraged Maria to take sips of sweet tea to keep up her energy.

Maria could hear the children singing. Liesl still had the guitar from the school; they sang all the songs Maria had taught them, starting with _My Favorite Things_.

Maria progressed rapidly, especially since this was her first baby. After only five hours, Dr. Abraham told everyone, "It won't be much longer." The children sat at the bottom of the stairs; waiting. The children heard a piercing little shriek cut through the silence. They wanted to run up the stairs to the bedroom, but Liesl grabbed them; "no, we need to wait for Father."

Upstairs in the bedroom, Georg looked at his sixth daughter. "Looks like every other newborn baby," he said in a tone of one who knows what he is talking about, "like a little monkey." He then went out of the room to tell the children.

"Children, Barbara Augusta was just born; "not another girl!" Kurt said in disappointment. "I'm afraid so Kurt."

Georg's words troubled did he mean looks like a monkey? Maria thought. Tears formed in her eyes. Georg returned in no time. He noticed the look on her face and her tears. "But little monkeys are the loveliest, sweetest creatures and I wouldn't want her to look any other way." With that remark Maria laughed through her tears.

Georg left the room again, so Martha could attend to her and the baby. He joined the children "In just a few more minutes and you can see your mother and your new sister." He couldn't help but notice Liesl; he could tell she was in deep thought and was probably thinking about the future.

With the younger children going up first, Georg came up to her, put his arm around her shoulder and whispered. "I know, have faith, sweetheart." Friedrich and Rolf noticed and overheard him and smiled.

Maria was sitting up in bed with Barbara in her arms. Each one came close and kissed their mother and new baby sister, who was sleeping. "Mother, can we see all of the baby?" Gretl asked.

"I think so, she carefully unwrapped the sleeping baby, so they could see all of her.

"Mother, may I touch her?"

"Of course."

"She's so soft," Marta said, and she was amazed at her tiny feet and hands. Maria smiled as she wrapped Barbara up again. "We don't want her to get cold, do we?" She told the children.

Ruth and Rebecca made their way to the house with a fully cooked dinner. Samuel and the other children had come along. As soon as all had a look at the baby, they left the family to enjoy their meal together. They all took their plates upstairs and sat on the bedroom floor to eat. Georg never gave any thought to stopping them; together they enjoyed a very happy time.

Georg sent Max a simple telegram – "Baby – Rev. Mother." Maria wanted her to know, hoping she would be able to see her again before they left for America,

Max interpreted the wire correctly. He met up with Elsa at a concert. They arranged to go to the Abbey early the next morning. Elsa dressed discreetly, like a peasant, a simple dress. They were welcomed inside and taken to the Reverend Mother's office.

"Elsa, Max, what brings you here?"

"Maria had the baby. Do you want to visit?"

Without hesitation, "Yes, very much."

"Can you be ready tomorrow?"

"I'll see you at day break."

The trip went very well; not once were they asked for their papers, probably because of the two women in their black habits and white wimples and black headpieces.

Maria was a very resilient woman. She was ready to return to all her activities. Georg had other plans.

"Maria, darling, I want you to rest."

"I'm tired of resting, Georg."

He laughed. "I guess I should have expected this. Maria, the children are doing just fine; meals have been on time, the clothes are clean; even my shirts have been ironed."

Now, it was time for Maria to laugh. "Okay, just let me and Barbara come downstairs. I don't need to be in bed."

So, every morning Georg or one of the boys would bring the cradle down stairs. Maria now felt like she was part of the family.

Georg even offered to take her for a ride on his bicycle. So today she got another ride on his bike which Maria called her chariot. "Thank you sweetheart, it's so nice to be outside."

Elsa, Max and the two nuns, Reverend Mother and Sister Margarita, arrived shortly after noon two days later. They has spent the night at an Abbey. The children met them outside and brought them inside much to the amazement of Maria and Georg.

"Reverend Mother, Sister Margarita," Maria exclaimed. "I can't believe you're here." She said as she picked up the baby. "Meet Barbara, everyone."

"She looks like you, Maria."

"That's what everyone says, but I think she has Georg's eyes. Sunday is her Baptism. Will you still be here?"

"We wouldn't miss it."

As promised, Elsa had brought the rest of their mementoes and Maria's wedding gown.

They gathered for the Baptism of Barbara Augusta von Trapp. All their new friends from Zurich and their friends from Salzburg came. Father Josef didn't mind. Samuel even read from the Old Testament.

The service began.

"Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

The people respond, "And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen

Then Samuel read:

"God is our refuge and strength  
>a very present help in trouble….<br>The Lord of hosts is with us  
>the God of Jacob is our stronghold."<p>

They sang together.

The King of love my shepherd is,  
>whose goodness faileth never.<br>I nothing lack if I am his,  
>and he is mine forever.<p>

And so through all the length of days,  
>thy goodness faileth never;<br>Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise  
>within thy house forever.<p>

The reading of the Gospel:

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him….And when Jesus had been baptized…the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him."

"Who is to be presented for Baptism?"

"We present, Barbara Augusta to receive the Sacrament of Baptism."

The service continued with the statements of faith and the congregation committed to support Barbara in her journey.

Before the blessing of the water, the children sang.

All things bright and beautiful,  
>all creatures great and small,<br>all things wise and wonderful:  
>the Lord God made them all.<p>

Each little flower that opens,  
>each little bird that sings,<br>God made their glowing colors,  
>and made their tiny wings.<p>

God gave us eyes to see them,  
>and lips that we might tell<br>how great is God Almighty,  
>who has made all things well.<p>

Father Josef took Barbara in his arms and poured the blessed water over her head. Saying, "Barbara Augusta, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." She never even woke up.

And everyone said. "Amen."

She was blessed with holy oil and welcomed into the household of God.

And the service concluded with the final hymn, all their friends came back to the house where the celebration continued.


	20. Revealing

REVEALING

Georg wasn't sure. He asked himself. "Would the others from Salzburg be safe after he left?" The Nazis were an evil bunch. If they learned that he had escaped to America, and he knew they would learn of it; it might spell disaster for the others. He decide he had to talk them.

One day a week, he met Daniel, Peter and Sam for lunch. They had become close friends; that's why he knew he had to tell them. This Wednesday Georg suggested they go for a walk. They walked to the woods by his house. There was a small clearing which held a couple of benches.

Sitting there, where no one could see or hear them, he told them. "We all know Switzerland is not totally neutral; it still allows Germans, Nazis, to come and go in their country at will. I think it's only a matter of time before a young Nazi wants to prove himself and come looking for me. The fact that we escaped must bother them terribly and that you found and helped Maria adds to it. I don't think it will be safe for any of us to stay here."

"When will you leave, Georg?"

"In about six weeks, I want to be sure Maria and the baby are doing well; Liesl and Rolf will marry three weeks after Easter. They would have few days together."

The others all looked at each other. "Georg, we all thought the same way; we have plans for leaving after Passover. All three of us have sponsors through the Jewish Federation of America. Do you think we should leave at the same time?"

"I do. It will be safer for all of us."

"The train to Basel leaves twice a day, it's never crowded, we should all be able to get tickets together. The rest of the trip to the Port of Amsterdam should be just as easy. The SS. Farmer will be leaving again on June 2nd."

"Have you shared any of this with your wives?" Georg asked.

"Not the details. We probably all need to tell them soon."

The men left the clearing with heavy hearts but knowing full well they were doing what was necessary to protect their families.


	21. The Wedding

A WEDDING

With the most important and usually one of the more time consuming tasks already accomplished, the wedding gown; Liesl and Maria set their sights on everything else. Liesl wanted all her siblings to have a part in the wedding.

She knew that their time in Zurich was ending and only the unknown lay ahead of them in America. Liesl trusted her parents, their faith was so strong and she felt it pass to her deep inside her being. And so she planned.

Gretl would be the lone flower girl. She would sprinkle rose petals along the aisle leading to the altar steps. Marta and Brigitta were her bridesmaids and Louisa, her maid of honor. Friedrich was the cross bearer and Kurt, the protector of the rings.

She knew her father had his navy dress uniform; like he wore for the party, would of course escort her down the aisle.

Maria had help making all the girls dresses. Martha, Ruth and Rebecca and she had them all ready in two weeks. They were all similar, Louisa's was a little different, not too frilly, after all this was for Louisa who was still a tomboy. A most beautiful color of pale green was used in all the dresses.

A florist was hired to do the flowers. Liesl was modest in her bouquet and those for the others, and only two arrangements in the church, according to the church's rules.

The organist was excited; she hadn't played for a wedding in a long time. She helped Liesl pick out a piece for the processional that was beautiful, but rarely used; Bach's _Canon in D -Jesu Joy of Man's Desire_. The recessional was easy, _Ode to Joy_, by Beethoven.

Father Josef guided Liesl and Rolf in their selection of the readings; from the Old Testament, Genesis 2-21 through 24; selected verses of Psalm 33 and for the Gospel, Mathew 19 verses 4 through 6.

Louisa and Brigitta surprised her one day when they sang the duet they had been secretly practicing with their mother, a duet to First Corinthians 13, the famous treatise on love titled, "_If I Have Not Love_."

Liesl loved it. "You will sing it at the wedding?" she asked. The girls smiled, they were so pleased.

As large as their house was, it wasn't large enough for the reception. The University had a large terrace that looked out over a lake. As an associate professor, Georg was able to reserve it for the reception. An early afternoon ceremony would allow for a lovely setting; the sun would set on the other side of the lake. A caterer would provide everything, including a cake. Liesl once again was modest in her selections. Georg over ruled her. "I insist you have everything you ever dreamed of," her father reminded her.

The instrumental group from the university would provide the music; songs for their dance and hers with her father were selected.

It was that day that Rolf told her that he did miss his mother. "She wasn't perfect, Liesl, she tried, but father put pressure on her to change to think like the Nazis."

Liesl wasn't sure how to respond. All she said was, "I'm sure she would be happy for us." Later she would talk to her mother.

Liesl came in the door after walking with Rolf down the hill to say good night, her mother was just starting up the steps. "Mother, may I talk with you?"

"Yes, Liesl, something wrong?"

"No, it's just that Rolf told me today he does miss his mother. I feel really bad for him."

"Let's sit for a minute, Liesl. I thought the same thing a few days ago; I talked with your father. He sent Uncle Max a telegram, as usual a cryptic one; hoping he will interpret it correctly; asking him to find Rolf's mother. We'll just have to pray and wait."

"I will not tell Rolf, but I will pray!"

Together they walked up stairs. "Good night, Liesl."

"Good night, Mother;" Liesl gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Georg was waiting for Maria to finish feeding Barbara. He heard. "Well, miss Barbara, are you finished?" She laid on her shoulder for a burp; she snuggled against Maria. It had been a long day; Maria wrapped her in a blanket and put her to bed. She wanted to spend some time with Georg.

She climbed into bed into his waiting arms. "You know Maria, we are lucky; she's already sleeping five hours at night. I think Brigitta was the only one like that; it seemed like all the others woke Agathe every three to four hours for food, especially Kurt."

Maria laughed, "That would be just like him; Barbara is such a good baby."

"Maria I need to tell you, our Salzburg friends are all going to America with us."

"Really, why Georg?"

"They might all be in danger after the Nazis learn we have left Zurich and they will learn of it. Nobody wants to take a chance, the Nazis are so evil."

Maria understood. "Where are they going?"

"All to Philadelphia."

"That's not far from the Naval Academy."

"No, not far at all."

She kept that knowledge to herself, Maria helped Liesl with last minute details. Ruth had shared with Liesl and Rolf the Jewish Ceremony of breaking a glass at the reception.

She told them. "Because the glass is broken, forever, their marriage will last forever. After the glass is broken the guests yell, _Mazel Tov!_ which means good luck."

Liesl told her parents. They both thought it was a wonderful idea, a way to show appreciation for what Samuel and his family had done for Maria and Rolf.

The day finally arrived; Liesl was up before dawn; she could sleep no longer. Quietly, she came down stairs, made some tea and stepped out on the porch. She witnessed the sun rise; it was going to be a glorious day. After saying her prayers, she began to think of all that was going to happen this day. She remembered a conversation she had with her mother several days ago:

"_It's about my wedding night. I know what happens. But I'm still scared."_

"_Don't be scared, follow your feelings. Remember the first time Rolf kissed you deeply, how did you feel?"_

_I felt sensations I've never felt before, in…she stammered, my private place."_

"_Yes, I remember that myself. Before that your father's first kiss made my toes curl and my knees went weak; he had to hold me up to keep me from falling. I said something like, 'my first kiss, will they always be like that?' He laughed, 'Maria you really have never been kissed?' 'No'. Then, 'let me show a more proper kiss.' Maria blushed at the memory. "It was then that I felt those same feelings, Liesl. And then he said, 'It only gets better after we are married.'_

"_Mother, you were never kissed before father's kiss?" "That's right; I experienced all those feelings after your father asked me to marry him."_

"_Father must have felt very special knowing that." _

"_Yes, I'm sure he did. And I would not have wanted my life to be any different; it makes me love your father that much more."_

"_Did Father help make your wedding night special?"_

"_Yes, he did. Talk to Rolf; encourage him to talk to either your Father or Samuel's father. I know your Father will talk to Friedrich when his time comes."_

She sighed and then was startled by her Mother's voice, "How's the bride-to be?"

She laughed, "Just fine, Oh Mother, I'm so excited."

"Me too."

The church was filled with parishioners and many others who had been invited. No one knew if anyone from Austria would come; the date had been circulated through the underground.

Georg stood with his daughter at the back of the church;he stood rather stiff to fight his emotions. Liesl stood with her hand resting in the crook of her Father's elbow.

He whispered to her, "You look beautiful, just like your mother."

"You really think so, Father?"

"Yes, and Rolf may faint because of your beauty?"

"Oh, Father, he will not." She answered as she held a sweet smile.

The two of them shared a relaxing laugh; then the music began.

The church was packed. Oblivious to everyone, guests from Austria entered the church just as Liesl and her father started down the aisle. The ceremony and Mass took slightly more than an hour. The new bride and groom joyously strode down the aisle and out the door. They turned to wait in the garden for all the guests to line the steps to the church.

They renterted the church through the side door; the couple now stood at the top of the steps for their first kiss; "another one for the camera, someone shouted." No one in the bridal party recognized the voice as belonging to Max.

Liesl and Rolf wanted a portrait taken in the gazebo by the lake; while Samuel drove them there, the guests walked to the reception. It was there that Friedrich spotted Max. The family was simply overjoyed that everyone had come.

Liesl and Rolf now stood, along with Maria and Georg and greeted everyone at the reception. At the very end of the line a surprise awaited all of them. Not only had Max, Elsa and Reverend Mother come, but also Frau Schmidt. Liesl was so happy to see her, she had been like a grandmother to all of them, but she was especially close to her.

Another woman stood at the end of the line, dressed in a pale blue-gray suit and with a long veil covering her head. Rolf took another look, then not real quietly, he exclaimed, "Mother!" Liesl's head turned to him.

"What did you say?"

"Liesl, I'd like you to meet my Mother." He gave her a kiss and waited for Liesl to respond.

"Frau Decker, I'm so pleased to meet you, this is a wonderful surprise. Mother, Father, come here please. Meet Rolf's mother, Frau Decker.

In polite amazement, Georg and Maria greeted her. Georg kissed her hand and Maria embraced her. "You're being here, completes this day, we are so blessed."

Rolf didn't ask his mother any questions. He and Liesl had talked about a song which could be played if his mother came. He never dreamed it would happen.

While Liesl visited with Frau Schmidt, Rolf had a chance to talk with his mother. She told him, "I don't know if your father is dead or alive. I'm leaving with the group going to America from Salzburg, me and Anna."

"Mother," he whispered, "you can't say anything, but we're leaving too. The Captain will be at the Naval Academy."

"I'll find you Rolf. I promise."

Rolf heard the music begin. Max took over as announcer/director/photographer. He was in his glory.

"I've known Liesl since she was thirteen, a girl who was wise beyond her years; helping her siblings adjust to life without a mother; and a father whose heart was broken. Soon after, she had her first crush, her first love and today she married that same boy.

"I present to you, Herr and Frau Decker."

The sun not only reflected on her face but her blush made her cheeks a crimson red. They danced to a simple Strauss waltz, much to the delight of Elsa.

After playing a short musical interlude, the band began the Father – daughter song. Georg proudly danced with Liesl.

Then surprising everyone, Max continued. "My friends, I introduce to you Frau Rita Decker, Rolf's mother. To applause, Rolf danced with his mother to a song he knew to be one of her favorites.

Liesl whispered to Max. "The next dance is the Laendler. It's especially for mother and father but everyone who knows it can dance." As the introduction of the dance began, Liesl motioned to her parents to begin.

They were surprise; they didn't hesitate. They began the dance. Quickly, Rolf and Liesl, Fredrich and Louisa, Kurt and Brigitta and others joined them.

And the dancing continued, Georg danced with Elsa, Max with Maria, Friedrich and Rolf with Maria. Soon Max directed everyone's attention to the cake. Liesl and Rolf were waiting.

Pictures were taken and then Max gave the signal and the cake was cut. In traditional bridal fashion each fed the other. There was more music and mingling as the cake was served to the guests.

Rolf and Liesl prepared for the final event, the breaking of the glass. Max got everyone's attention, Rebecca took over. "It's an old Jewish custom for the newlyweds to break a glass on the night of their wedding. When a glass is shattered, it is forever,therefore their marriage will last forever. One, two, three."

Rolf and Liesl stomped on the glass, it shattered. Everyone clapped and Rebecca said, "_Mazel Tov!_" repeated for all to understand, "good luck." A final toast and the happy couple walked off the terrace, she threw her bouquet behind her, it was caught by Sarah; the young girl waived it in the air and smiled.

The music continued for a short while; the guest started to leave, they said goodbye to Maria and Georg as they left.


	22. The Hotel

THE HOTEL

The driver left Rolf and Liesl at the front door. The clerk knew who they were. Rolf signed the register, Herr and Frau Decker. Their stay had been paid for by the "Salzburg Family." The clerk escorted them to their room; their luggage had been delivered earlier that day.

It was a lovely suite with windows looking out over a canyon with a waterfall in the distance. They had Champaign available to them but neither wanted any. They were both so nervous; wondering what to do next.

"Liesl."

"Yes, Rolf."

"Please, come sit on the bench." She gathered her gown, with the train to one side, she sat slightly side ways on the bench. Rolf pulled up the stool from the dressing table and sat in front of her.

He took her hands. "Liesl, don't be afraid. I talked to Samuel's father. We need to get to know each other as husband and wife. We don't need to rush anything. We love each other and we're married, the rest will happen when we're ready. I do want to get out of my suit and even though you look very beautiful in your gown, I'm sure you would like to change. Do you need any help?"

"Yes, can you undo all the buttons?" He kissed her sweetly leaving her with her gown undone and she went into the bathroom to change.

Her mother had given her a negligee set; it was modest, yet light and lacy with a full length matching robe. She sat at a small table near the window. The caterers had left some of the food that was served at the reception. She fixed a plate for both of them and poured them each a glass of lemonade.

Rolf joined her at the table. They ate and watched a hawk dive up and down the canyon. When they finished, Rolf escorted her to the "dance floor," a small area between the end of the bed and the door.

He began to sing to her, the gazebo song. He changed the words slightly. "Your pages are empty, I'm the man to write on them." and so on.

Soon he was spinning her, flying her through the air in his arms. They laughed and giggled and kissed and kissed and then it all happened naturally; the beautiful moment when the Bible passage was fulfilled. They laid together amazed at the overwhelming sensations they both had felt. It was exactly as her mother had told her it would be; it was even better.

Night had come and the young couple slept in each other's arms until the dawn woke them. After the sun got higher in the sky, they heard a knock at the door. Hesitantly, Rolf got up and went to the door, without opening it, he said "yes?" And then he heard, "Your breakfast, sir, courtesy of Baroness von Trapp."

"Mother sent it Rolf." He opened the door and the attendant rolled in a silver table piled high with breakfast goodies. Rolf went to tip him. "No sir, it's all taken care of; enjoy."

Rolf and Liesl spent three wonderful days; most of it right there in the room – they did take a few walks and enjoyed an evening of dancing.

They were sad when their time was up. They both knew what waited for them, uncertainty.


	23. Leaving

LEAVING

Georg was the organizer and leader of the plan. The men met at their designated spot; this time it was late evening.

The von Trapp-Decker wedding had not gone unnoticed. Swiss guards had followed the "Salzburg Family," all the way from the border and then again when they left. Max had told them as much in his wire, "safe – observed."

Georg began. "We need to prepare for the worst. I think we should take separate trains, your families can leave on the morning train. The late train will actually be easier for us; the baby will probably sleep most of the way. The visiting professor from America is returning home, will be traveling with us."

None of the men were happy with the news. They now were absolutely sure they were doing the right thing.

Georg's plan had Liesl, Rolf, Friedrich and Louisa walking to the University to meet up with the professor and they would walk the three blocks to the train station. Dr. Krause would drive the rest of the family there a little later.

None of the families had much of value in their homes. Georg planned on sending one trunk on an earlier train; it would remain in the Port of Amsterdam, waiting for him to claim it. The other families would combine their things into one or possibly two trunks and do the same.

Each man had a check list and a timetable; they were not going to meet again as a group. Whenever he shared the plans with Maria, he did so in writing; he took no chances of being overheard; and then the pages were burned.

Georg put all their birth records, his and Maria's marriage certificate in a pocket portfolio. It also included Rolf and Liesl's certificate as well as Rolf's birth record. He will never know why Rolf's mother brought it with her to the wedding, but he was grateful.

Maria had already made sure each child had a bag, small ones for Gretl and Marta. They were large enough for a few things to have on the train with them. Their few traveling clothes would be divided among the others.

Maria packed the trunk; all the photographs and one larger painting of the family were removed from their frames and placed carefully in the very bottom of the trunk. On top of them were other important paper, Georg and Louisa's completed journals, several items of family jewelry, the jeweled broach Georg gave her for Christmas, as well as Agathe's prayer book and Rosary, and Liesl's pearls. Their clothes came last, nice dresses for each of the girls, suit and shirts for the men and of course clothes for the baby. There still was room for the wedding gown and maybe for a few other things to be added later.

After adding a few additional items, the next day Georg took it to the train station to be shipped through to the Port of Amsterdam.

Later that evening, with Barbara being asleep in her cradle; their Father asked the children to sit on the floor in a circle, he and Maria sat down together; Marta and Gretl always sat next to Maria, the others filled in the circle.

"Are we playing a game, Father? Marta asked.

"No, but we are going to pray. But first I have something very important to tell you." Everyone got real quiet; Liesl, Rolf and Friedrich already sensed what he was going to talk about. "Children, the bad people who made us leave Austria are not happy we escaped to Switzerland. So, before they come here to look for us; we are going on a long train ride."

"Where to, Father?' Kurt asked.

"Far away to the Port of Amsterdam," Georg knew, Kurt, Louisa and possibly Brigitta would continue to ask questions. He decided to tell them everything. "We will get on a ship and sail to America."

"Will we ever come back?" Brigitta asked.

"Perhaps, many years from now."

"What about our friends?"

"That's the best part; you will see them all again, they will be on the ship with us." Marta and Gretl smiled, they were really too young to understand, they just knew they would see their friends. They joined hands and Maria led them in prayer: "Hail Mary …..Our Father…. and then recited the 23rd psalm and finally this prayer:

"God's Angels guard and keep you  
>All the way that you must travel<br>Till earth's days are past  
>When blossoms fade and<br>Time is fleeting fast  
>In times of purest joy<br>Or pain and fear  
>God's Angels guard<br>And keep you safe"

Maria looked at the children; she could see fear in the older one's eyes. "Remember," she said: 'But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.' He will not fail us, He promised."

Georg broke the gravity of the moment. "Now let's have some cookies and milk before we go to bed."

Louisa lingered behind as everyone went upstairs. She whispered to Liesl, "How long have you known?"

"Mother and Father told us about two weeks before Barbara was born. Our wedding date had to be flexible. Louisa, I know how you feel; but they couldn't tell everyone."

"I'm not upset, I just wondered. How am I ever going to get to sleep?" She continued.

"I know what you mean; Rolf and I will probably talk all night."

They weren't the only ones having trouble getting to sleep. Maria had a hard time with Barbara going back to sleep after her feeding; she wasn't fussy, just awake. Finally, after singing her a lullaby, Maria crawled into bed beside Georg. "I think that went reasonably well?"

"Yes, I knew our three middle children would continue to ask questions; so I decided to tell them everything. Everyone was asleep when I checked on them; except I could hear Liesl and Rolf talking quietly. Louisa's light was off but I didn't open her door."

Barbara woke a little earlier than normal. Maria took the opportunity to give her a quick bath; placed her back in the cradle while she got dressed. Maria packed her travel bag; clothes for herself and Barbara; her Rosary, a small prayer book and the small German-English dictionary and phrase book Georg had bought at the University bookstore.

With Georg finishing his packing, they gathered what few clothes remained and put them all in a pile to take to the church later. Before breakfast, the family walked to the Church with clothes in their arms and met Father Josef at the door. He thanked them; as he invited them to stay for a few minutes for prayers and Holy Communion.

He walked part of the way to their house; "Georg, I saw the others at the train station; there was no trouble even though there were two guards wondering up and down. If you can, please let me know you are safe; my prayers are with you and the others."

"I will, Father and thank you for all your kindness, please tell everyone goodbye for us, we will miss them." They shook hands; they departed each other for the last time.

Nothing was to be left in the house; it would be spotless when they left. Georg wanted no trace of who had lived there.

The train bags included a light jacket or sweater, two changes of clothing and night clothes; and small toys, Gretl's Angel Doll, Marta's old rag doll, a small journal for Louisa and one book for Brigitta. Kurt had some pebbles and a dreidel, Brigitta had packed some cards.

Maria could tell her emotions were affecting Barbara; she was feeding more often. Maria thought she probably felt comforted when she was so close to her. She suspected the other children had unvoiced emotions.

The older children walked to the University late that afternoon; they waited with Professor Edwards until it was time for them to walk to the train station. No one paid any attention to them; there were others out walking as well. It was almost dark when Dr. Krause reached the house, everyone was packed and waiting.

No one at the train station seemed to notice the large family. The two groups kept reasonably apart. Professor Edwards had the children engaged in conversation when Georg and Maria arrived with the others. One Swiss Guard patrolled the station. Several other families arrived to take the late train to Basel.


	24. The Trains

THE TRAINS

Georg bought ten tickets, included was one for the professor; the baby didn't need a ticket. The train was on time; it wasn't very crowded, there were only rows of bench seats on either side of the aisle, no compartments. The ride to Basel would take less than two hours.

Maria shared a bench with Gretl and of course she held the baby. The others were paired together; Marta and Kurt, Louisa and Brigitta, Friedrich sat with the professor and of course Liesl and Rolf were together. Georg had the seat on the opposite side of the aisle from Maria.

The train jerked as the cars were caught in the pull of the engine. Georg tried to see his children's faces, but for the most part they were turned away from him; they were looking out the window or talking. Gretl was talking with Maria. One by one the older children seemed to need reassurance from him and looked back. He saw a subtle look of fear but they gave nods to tell him that they were alright.

As the train started to move, the ticket master along with a Swiss guard entered the train car. Georg's heart raced as he saw the guard. The guard spoke to him. "Are these all your children?" He looked at the children and at Maria and the baby.

"Yes, they are," Georg said proudly as he handed the ticket master all ten tickets.

The ticket master spoke to Georg, "I only see five children."

Georg smiled, he pointed to Liesl and Rolf, "my daughter and her husband and my son is sitting with a friend who is returning to America." He punched all the tickets and handed them back to Georg.

The guard approached Liesl and Rolf, Georg's heart paused.

"Young man, may I see your papers?"

Georg almost jumped from his seat.

"I have them, sir, with all the others."

He handed him Rolf's birth certificate and the church marriage certificate.

"I see you were born in, Berlin."

"Yes, I moved to Salzburg when I was two."

"Your parents know you are traveling."

"Yes sir, I have their blessing to be with my new bride."

The guard in a moment of weakness smiled at the two and handed back the papers and went on.

Everyone had been watching and listening. It seemed as if a simultaneous sound of relief was heard. Maria looked at Georg, who reached across the aisle to squeeze her hand.

The children were excited, not even Gretl slept. There were four stops before they reached Basel; each time they picked up more passengers.

Georg prepared the children when he heard the conductor say, "next stop, Basel." They were ready to disembark the train, Brigitta took Gretl's hand, Kurt had Marta with him and Louisa helped Maria with the baby. Everyone stood on the platform looking around. All the other passengers had already walked away. Georg motioned for everyone to follow him.

The first stop was the train station's bathroom. Maria found a secluded place to feed Barbara. Then they walked down the street to a restaurant; Maria could tell the children, especially the younger ones, were very tired. While they sat there, Gretl and Marta almost fell asleep. Friedrich carried Gretl and Georg did the same with Marta. They went back to the train station. There, Maria had bought extra fruit and bread for a snack later on.

Back on the loading platform, the Swiss guards were on patrol. They acknowledged the large group but asked no questions. The train to the Port of Amsterdam was right on time. This train had seating compartments.

Georg wasn't sure how many compartments to occupy; he wanted the children to have enough room to sleep. This was a six hour ride. Louisa, Kurt and Brigitta wanted to be together. Gretl slept in the compartment with Maria and Barbara. Georg had Marta. The newly-weds were by themselves and Friedrich stayed with the professor.

Just as before, the ticket master came through with a Swiss guard. They were both friendly; the ticket master notified the porter, who produced a cradle with straps to anchor it to the seat, for Barbara. Maria was so grateful. After feeding Barbara, Maria placed her in the cradle and then went to sit beside Georg for awhile.

Georg held her close, "We need to be thankful, Maria, everything is going so well."

"The children don't seem to be afraid, I'm grateful for that."

"Maria, I want you to get some sleep, I'll stay awake and keep an eye on everyone."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, close your eyes." Maria rested her head against her husband's shoulder and slept."

Georg observed that all the children slept for at least part of the ride. Kurt and Louisa were asleep in their compartment; Brigitta had gone to Liesl's compartment to sleep on the opposite bench, she and Rolf were curled up against each other, Friedrich had taken his jacket and used it to soften the spot where his head rested against the window. The professor read for a time but then he too put his head on the back of the seat and slept.

Georg's senses were still on edge; he had stayed awake many times during the war while on watch; he did the same this night. He protected his family.

It was a couple of hours before the train made its first stop. After that the stops became more frequent and more people boarded the train. There was a lot of talking; it woke the older children.

It was around five when Maria was awoken by a very hungry baby. Her crying woke Gretl and Marta. The first thing they needed to do was use the bathroom. "Georg, I know nothing about bathrooms on a train."

For the first time in a couple of days, Georg chuckled. "Just follow the directions, Maria."

"Well, what an experience!" she said when she returned to her seat. Georg chuckled again. The other children all made use of the facilities and laughed about it as well. Maria handed out the fruit and bread, something to eat until they could get breakfast.

The conductor came through, "next stop, Port of Amsterdam." Everyone collected all their belongings and waited patiently for the train to stop.

Outside the train station, Georg saw the hotel he had been told about, that rented rooms by the hour, for the sole purpose to allow passengers to rest and freshen-up before continuing their travels. He rented two rooms, one for boys and one for girls, for now Georg took a sleeping Barbara with him. Maria helped the others bathe and comb their hair. Before leaving the room, Maria fed and changed Barbara; she washed her dirty diapers in the tub. She wrung them dry as much as she could and wrapped them in a dry towel.

The children talked about nothing but seeing their friends and the ship; they were talking so much Maria had to remind them to finish their breakfast. While walking towards the dock, Maria spotted a Church. "Georg, let's stop and light a candle."

The family entered the Church and quickly approached the candles on the side altar. They all were silent as Maria lit a candle and whispered this simple prayer:

"Father, you protected your people on their escape from Egypt, please watch over this ship as it brings us to a new land. Amen" In silence they left to meet up with their friends.


	25. SS American Farmer

THE S.S. AMERICAN FARMER

The children spotted their friends; Georg let them run on ahead. They were so excited to see them.

"Peter, did you have any problems?"

"Only once Georg, not really a problem, but we were asked for our papers leaving Basel. I must say, I held my breath until they handed them back to me. How about you?"

"I just confused the ticket master when I handed him ten tickets. Then the guard asked for Rolf's papers, he was pleasant after discovering they were newlyweds."

"Maria, Peter and I are going to claim our trunks."

"Okay, I'll watch everyone."

They took Friedrich and Samuel with them, off they went to claim their trunks. When they returned it was almost time to board the ship. Georg surveyed the ship, it was small, he wondered how it would be in rough seas. Soon the families were all on the walkway to the ship; everyone was so excited.

"Father, this is so exciting." Brigitta exclaimed. There was so much loud talking, Georg could be heard, "Okay, everyone, quiet down, we need to listen to the steward." The steward was a young man about the same age as Rolf. He and Georg had been talking while waiting to board.

The steward had asked him, "Have you done much sailing, sir?"

Georg had to chuckled, "Well young man, whose name he now knew was Jon, yes, if you consider a submarine as sailing!"

"Submarine, sir. How exciting."

Then Georg asked him. "How did you get to be a steward?"

"My grandfather Admiral Werner was in the Great War, he always told me stories about sailing, so I thought I would give it a try this summer."

"Did your grandfather ever mention a man by the name of Georg von Trapp?"

"Oh, yes many times."

Georg smiled at the young man, who gasped and then said, "You…you are Captain von Trapp?"

"Nice to meet you, Jon, we need to talk later."

Jon then spoke to everyone. "First, the von Trapp family has four large cabins located starboard," then quickly added, "to your left." Then he looked at the adults with the others, "Yours are located on the right side of the ship, all five of them."

Then the following information; "I will be your steward for the trip, my name is Jon. Breakfast is served from seven to nine, lunch twelve to two and dinner six to eight. The chimes will signal the beginning of each meal. After you get settled, I suggest you come topside and watched the departure."

When he finished the talking began again. Georg heard all kinds of discussion as who was staying with whom. Professor Edwards spoke up. "Georg, the older boys, Samuel, Friedrich and Kurt can bunk with me." Rolf and Liesl had the smaller cabin to themselves. The largest, with two double beds was for the four girls.

Maria wasn't sure they should be alone. "Maria, we are right next to them, they will be fine."

"Okay, Georg." She didn't sound convinced, he smiled at her, "If it doesn't work, we will split up, but let's give it a try."

Not everyone was happy. Kurt wanted to be with David and Michel. All the parents talked it over, and so it was decided that Kurt, David and Michel could have a room together. Teresa and Sarah were like sisters; they shared the smaller room between their parents' cabins.

With the cabin issues solved, they went to explore the ship and of course Georg was the leader. He told them, "This ship is a refurbished cargo ship; that's why the cabins are not all the same size."

Their first stop was the dining room. Kurt's favorite room and probably that of all the boys. A large round table had a sign which read, "Reserved – Von Trapp Family." Georg noticed another table nearby, large enough for the others. He asked the dining room steward, "Can this one be reserved for our friends?"

"What name, sir?"

"The Salzburg Families will do just fine;" and so it was labeled.

Georg heard the song of the boatswain's whistle, calling all to their assignments for departure. Georg found the stairs; he and Maria were right behind Rolf and Liesl.

"Liesl, wait a minute, your mother is going to need some help with Barbara; these stairs are very narrow and straight."

Georg stood on the fourth step from the bottom, Liesl almost to the top. "Okay, Maria, hand me the baby, and then he gave her to Liesl, who gave her off to Rolf."

"Well," Maria said, "that was interesting; I guess I won't be going up and down very often."

"There must be an elevator, Maria. I'll ask later." Maria wasn't sure. She thought, what's an elevator? Something else I need to learn about.

The weather was perfect. They all stood close to the bow. The ships horn sounded and the deck hands released the ropes. The ship slowly pulled away from the dock; at first no one felt the ship moving. All they knew, the shore line became further and further away.

"Father, how does the ship know which way to go, there are no signs in the water?" Marta asked. Georg smiled as all the children crowded around him to hear his answer.

He looked up to an enclosed structure high above the deck. "Up there, in the wheelhouse is a compass and the ship's wheel. The officer turns the wheel to point in the direction he wants the ship to go. The ship turns very slowly, because it is so big."

Georg continued their tour of the ship; going down the portside stairs, they visited a game room and a library.

"A library, Father," Brigitta asked expectantly, "Can we use it?"

"Of course."

Back in their cabins, they changed for dinner. The chimes rang three times sounding the start of the dinner hour. The dining room was full; all seventy passengers seemed to be hungry all at the same time. Georg listened to the talking; he knew most people were speaking in English.

"Maria, do you know most of the passengers are speaking English?"

"Really, Georg, maybe they can help us learn."

After their meal, Jon found them. "Frau von Trapp, have you found the elevator?"

"No," she said politely. Not sure she wanted to know.

"Captain, come with me." Georg, put his arm around Maria's waist, they followed Jon to the back of the dining room.

Maria had to say something. "Georg, what is an elevator?

"Maria, you really don't know what an elevator is?" She shook her head.

"It looks like a cage."

"Well, it is a cage, attached to wire ropes which will pull the cage up the next floor or down. When you lived in Vienna, you never visited Miller's Department Store?"

"No Georg, I was too busy with my studies and cleaning the dormitory, my free time was spent in the mountains, singing." He embraced her, she had had such a simple life compared to his, he wanted her to know how much he delighted in showing her the world. He hadn't expected to be bringing her to the "New World."

"It's perfectly safe. Maria. Are you ready?"

Jon showed them how to open the doors, they all stepped inside, Jon closed the doors. They went up to the next deck but since they really needed to stay on the lower deck, they went back down. Maria relaxed; she knew this would be much safer for her and Barbara.

Getting the children to settle down was a chore, they were all still so excited, but Maria knew they were tired. No one had had good sleep for the past two days. Maria helped the girls get ready for bed. Gretl and Marta were asleep before Maria finished their prayers.

She finished praying with Brigitta and Louisa, as she was leaving she told them, "Okay, you two, don't stay awake too long; I know you found a good book to read Brigitta and Louisa don't write a "book" in your journal,"

"We won't." She heard. She gave them each a kiss.

In their cabin, Georg was sitting telling Barbara all about his adventures on ships; she was still wide awake; looking up at her father. "I guess your stories aren't exactly bedtime stories." He laughed as he handed Barbara to her.

"I'm going to check on the others." He chatted with the professor, "Don't let them keep you up." Then on to the boys, they were in the middle of a pillow fight. "Boys – settle down."

"Father, this is so exciting, I can't believe I'm on a ship sailing to America."

"That's good to hear but when I come back in an hour, I expect to see lights out and a body in each bed asleep." Georg spoke kindly but firmly. On his way back to his cabin, he knocked on Liesl and Rolf's door, "goodnight you two."

"Goodnight father, he heard them laugh.

Maria had fed and changed Barbara and put her to bed in the crib that was provided for her. "Tomorrow, Georg, I need to wash some diapers."

"No problem, there is a laundry room and a place to hang them, on top deck if it is nice."

"Georg, I had no idea the ship would be so nice."

"If you really like sailing, Maria, maybe some day we will go on a real cruise liner – like the Queen Elizabeth."

"I guess we can dream, can't we?"

Barbara was their alarm clock, at five-thirty she was hungry. Maria tried to get to her quickly, hoping Georg would sleep longer. What was she thinking, her"sailor" was up and dressed and out the door. While walking on deck, he was greeted by the First Lieutenant, "Captain, would you like to see the wheelhouse?"

"Of, course."

As they walked up the ladder, "I understand you were a submarine commander, a highly decorated one."

"Yes, but the empire was defeated and Austria became landlocked; and now Hitler."

"I'm sorry, Captain, it must be hard leaving your homeland."

"It is, but I had to do what was best for my family. Do you think the boys could visit up here later, my son Kurt is really interested in the Navy."

"No, problem."

Noting the time, he hurried back to help Maria with the children. That afternoon, Georg took the boys to the wheelhouse – the crew answered all their questions.

On the third day, they encountered bad weather. The rough waters "tossed the ship around like a ball; it moaned and cracked as it bent over from one side to the other." No one ate breakfast. Maria "went from cabin to cabin finding the children in all stages of wanting to be dead, the truest sign of seasickness."

The storm did not pass for three long days. Very few passengers ate, Georg and Maria seemed to be among the few who were not seasick. Later, on the afternoon of the third day, the sky cleared and the sea became like glass for the remainder of the trip. Everyone started to venture from their cabins for some fresh air and sunshine. Dinner that evening was light, the crew knew what to serve, chicken noodle soup.

With six days remaining, Maria was determined to learn some English. Georg had studied with the professor; he was already able to carry on a conversation with some of the passengers. There just hadn't been any time for Maria to even read her book.

Now with the book, pencil and paper in her pocket, she and Barbara went up on top deck to find people to talk with. Everyone was most willing to help her. She learned simple phrases of greetings. Conversation was easy with Barbara with her, they all asked about her. By the end of the week she could carry on a simple conversation. Georg was very proud. "I knew you would learn quickly." Now they tried to speak to each other only in English.

Only one more day at sea, the children were getting excited again. They couldn't believe they would be in America tomorrow.

After breakfast, the passengers lined the deck for the first glimpse of America. The ship sailed down the coast from the north and soon someone shouted. "Look! Look!" Everyone turned and saw the skyscrapers emerge from the fog. There was America.


	26. America

AMERICA

They had enjoyed the ship, it had become a lot of fun, they had made good use of the game room, the women had washed their clothes, the von Trapp children had sang on the top deck and sometimes at the request of the other passengers in the dining room. Georg didn't mind, it was just for everyone's enjoyment.

Now the children stood silently by their parents. It was finally real. All but the youngest, began to feel the effect of the unknown. Last evening at dinner, they had all sat with other passenger, two together; trying to converse in English. The passengers had been most willing; it had been fun for the children but now it frightened them.

Their parents noticed the children's silence. Georg wanted to allay their fears he gathered them around him and spoke to all of them. "Children you all know the verse from Isaiah; But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;" Maria help me," "they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary: and they shall walk and not faint." Maria completed for him. Georg went on, "God will give us strength, He brought us safely to this new land." The children seemed to relax; smiles came to their faces.

With smiles is how they all walked into the immigration office, the officers in charge noticed. "Do your smiles mean you are happy to be in America?" He heard a chorus of "yes, sirs."

Once the families' papers were legally recorded they were escorted to a special immigration hotel. Georg explained to the children. "We are required to wait three days before we can travel freely in America."

"Why, Father," Brigitta asked.

Georg hesitated for a moment, the adults all knew about the required stay in the hotel; he tried to think of a truthful statement that would not worry the children.

"Well, Brigitta, they want to give us time to adjust to America and time to rest before we travel again." The other adults were relieved that Georg had come up with an answer that satisfied the children. They said goodbye to the professor, after all he was an American citizen, he would contact Georg at the Naval Academy.

The Americans who ran the hotel were very kind, especially towards the children. A doctor and a nurse were assigned to take a health history of everyone. "Has any one been sick; not including seasickness, a cough or a fever?" All the adults could truthfully answer, "No." Everyone had their temperature taken, even Barbara, and their throat examined with a flashlight using a tongue depressor. Friedrich and Samuel smiled at each other, they knew. Georg saw the smile that passed between them.

He whispered to them, "Please don't say anything."

"We won't."

Twice a day they were all examined the same way. The food was good and they could get fresh air on the roof playground. Maria had them sing to pass the time. The music teacher at the school had given her a recorder in thanks for all her hard work with the chorus. The children all wanted to learn how to play it; that became another activity to pass the time.

On the second day, the State Department contacted the director of the hotel. He was told, "The von Trapp family needs to be on the train tomorrow for Annapolis, they have been with you long enough." He requested that the Captain be brought to him immediately.

"Captain, sir, it seems the Naval Academy is anxious to get you on staff; summer school starts soon. You and your family will leave on the train tomorrow. And by the way, your friends are leaving also; a representative from the Jewish Federation is picking them up in the morning. My associate is telling the men now."

"That's good news, thank you for everything. My family is very happy to be in America."

"Captain, I heard your children singing, they are very good, you should be proud, maybe America would like to hear them perform?"

Georg smiled, "My wife, Maria, deserves all the credit." He had no reason to tell him any more.

He hurried to find Maria. She saw the happiness in his face. "What Georg?" she said in English.

"Maria, we leave tomorrow on a train to the Naval Academy." She kissed and hugged as if he had been gone for days. With Barbara in her arms, they went to find the children. They reached the roof at the same time as their friends. All were speaking at the same time, the only word everyone heard was "leaving."

"Children, children, come here please." Georg spoke for all of them. "We are leaving tomorrow." He looked at his children, "by train to Annapolis. Your friends will go by bus to Philadelphia" The children had mixed emotions; happy to be leaving the hotel but sad to leave their friends.

"Don't worry everyone," Maria said, "you can all write us at the Naval Academy, that's the only address you need."

"Philadelphia is not too far away." Peter reminded them.

Maria, Liesl and Louisa washed all their clothes and hung them on the roof to dry. The other women did the same.

Dinner was a lively time, still trying to speak in English, but their German would sneak in if they couldn't remember the correct English word. Afterwards, they went up on the roof to sing, all of them. They had never sung at night before.

When they would finish a song, they could hear applause. Georg and Peter went to the roof's edge and saw the people in the nearby building sitting on the fire escapes applauding, "more please, more." They sang for awhile longer and then Georg told the people listening thank you and wished them, "good evening." Georg too, realized how wonderful they sang. It did make him proud.

Everyone was packed before breakfast. They were in the lobby when their friends departed. Saying goodbye was difficult. Maria reminded the children again. "You can all write letters." They stood outside and watched as the bus drove away.

In an hour, a bus from the Port of New York was waiting for them. Maria and Georg had checked all the rooms; they found nothing being left behind. The bus took them downtown to Grand Central Station. Everything about New York City amazed the children, but Grand Central Station was beautiful. From its Main Concourse's elaborately decorated astronomical ceiling to the multiple art galleries, no one had ever seen anything like it. Georg compared it to the galleries that he had seen in Paris.

An officer from the Port Authority stayed with them until their train arrived. Georg had been given American money to buy lunch for the family as they waited for the train.

"Train 18 to Philadelphia and Annapolis now boarding platform eight," the loud speaker announced. The officer assisted them to board the train and then bid them well, he and Georg said goodbye with a gentlemen's embrace.

Everyone wanted to sit by a window. Other passengers noticed the large family and willingly gave up their window seats. Maria and Georg were pleasantly surprised and thank them over and over again. The passengers noticed their German accent, several asked them. "Where are you from?"

Georg cautiously responded simply, "Austria." Then, "Where are you going?"

"To Annapolis, the Naval Academy."

A man introduced himself, "I'm Captain Frazier, head of the science department at the Naval Academy." Georg relaxed. "Pleased to meet you, sir." He extended his hand, "Georg von Trapp, I'm reporting for a teaching assignment there."

The man looked perplexed, "Ah! Captain von Trapp, the famous submarine commander from the Great War. Georg smiled, "Yes."

"Are all these children yours?"

"Yes, the blond man with my eldest daughter is my son-in-law." He moved closer to Maria. "And this is my wife Maria and our last addition, our daughter, Barbara." Maria smiled and pleasantly greeted the man as she rocked Barbara to sleep.

"Captain," Georg put up his hand. "Please call me Georg."

"Yes of course, Georg, I'll answer any questions you have and I'm Richard."

"Richard, I have no idea where to begin." But still they talked most of the way to Annapolis.

Richard also heard the exclamations of the children as they watched out the windows. The rolling hills in upstate New Jersey were beautiful, so green and lush. But soon that was changed into the city life of Philadelphia. Shortly they arrived in the capital city.

Richard spoke to them. "Children this is Washington DC, America's capitol. It is named after our first president." The view outside changed once again to farm land and then they crossed a large river. "We're almost there everyone," Richard told them.

With the station in view, Maria told the children to gather their belongings. Richard stayed with them as they went into the station. He spotted Herr Miller.

"Georg, please meet Herr Miller, professor of German at the Academy." The two shook hands. "I'm here to escort you to the Naval Academy, everyone is anxious for your arrival." And then speaking to Richard, "Do you need a ride or did you leave a car?"

"I have my car. Georg, I'll see you tomorrow at the staff meeting."

The family boarded another bus for the short ride to the Naval Academy.


	27. Naval Academy

NAVAL ACADEMY

All the children had a window seat; they were quiet as the bus made its way to the Academy. Herr Miller sat with the Captain.

"Captain, I thought you only had seven children."

Georg smiled, "Yes, seven with my first wife who died during the scarlet fever outbreak almost five years ago." He motioned towards Mara, "Please meet my wife, Maria and little Barbara."

"Frau von Trapp, I'm…" Maria held up her hand, "please call me Maria.

"Alright then, you have to call me George."

"And I'm Georg."

Maria chuckled, "what a similarity in first names!"

"Well, the baby makes eight, I count nine."

"Yes, my son-in-law, Rolf Decker with my eldest daughter, Liesl." Georg went around the bus introducing all the children.

"Children, since I'm going to be your escort; why don't you call me Uncle George?"

"Can we, Father?"

"I don't see why not, you have another unofficial uncle."

"They do?"

"Yes, Uncle Max, Max Detweiler, an admirer of singing groups."

"Did you say Max Detweiler?"

"Yes, why?"

"His name was in the news recently. It seems he escaped Austria with the Nazis hot on his trail. He had been helping Jews escape – a large group left with him; a singing group, a sophisticated Baroness and several other women with children."

The children gasped. They looked at each other in surprise. Georg broke the silence. "That's him, the woman is Elsa;" then Rolf spoke, "one of the women may be my mother with my sister."

"Oh my," Maria exclaimed and then cheerfully, "They will find us; they all knew we were coming here."

With those words, the bus entered the campus of the Naval Academy. They were taken to the Officers' Quarters on the river; a large furnished house waited for them.

"After you freshen up, we will have dinner at the Officers' Club. I think you will find everything you need in the house; the wives' club prepared it for you. We will need to get a crib for the baby."

"No need, George, she can sleep in a dresser drawer for now,"

George laughed, "No Maria, I'll bring a crib back with me"

Before the children could scatter, Maria stopped them. "We need to pray. what are you most thankful for?"

Maria opened her prayer book, she prayed, "Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being; we humbly pray you to so guide and govern us. We thank you for all the blessings of our life, but above all for your immeasurable love. And for the protection you afforded us in our travels. To Him be the honor and the Glory, amen.

Then each in turn spoke. First was Georg, "opportunity in America;" Liesl, "God's love;" Rolf, "freedom," Louisa, "Samuel finding Mother," Kurt, "Father's planning," Friedrich, "Mother's strong faith," Brigitta, "Our Blessed Mother's prayers for us," Marta, "our friends," and Gretl, "Uncle George." They ended saying together the "Our Father."

The house was huge and beautiful. There were six bedrooms, all upstairs. A large dining table filled the dining room. It even had a laundry room right off the kitchen.

Liesl and Louisa opened the trunk and took out all their nice clothes. They found an iron and an ironing board. While their mother fed Barbara, the girls ironed and help dress their sisters. Soon everyone was ready and waiting for Uncle George to return.

Uncle George helped them all into the van. It was only a short distance, they really could have walked. Their table faced the river; there were a few sailboats out for a late night sail. The opulence of the club overwhelmed them all. The food was excellent and they returned to their house, with full bellies.

The children were very tired; Georg assigned bedrooms; two bedrooms had their own attached bathroom, one for them and Barbara, the other for the newlyweds. Two rooms shared a bathroom between them; Louisa and Brigitta had one Kurt had the other. Friedrich was given his own room. Marta and Gretl shared the room closest to their parents.

It didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep. Maria and Georg talked. "I never expected all this, such a beautiful home." Maria then said almost in a whisper, "I feel like royalty."

"Yes, the Navy is quite generous. George will pick me up at nine tomorrow; the President of the Wives' Club is supposed to visit you in the morning." As Barbara had her last feeding, Georg checked on the children; all were sound to sleep.

Patsy Ann did indeed visit Maria in the morning. She was an older woman whose husband, Rear Admiral Johnson was a career officer; they were at their final assignment before his retirement. Coming with her was George's wife Karla; Patsy Ann knew Maria was still learning English, Karla spoke fluent German.

Maria took a deep breath when Karla was introduced to her; she had worried about conversing with Patsy Ann.

The first thing, Karla said. "I understand you told George, Barbara could sleep in a drawer." Maria blushed.

"I just thought it would be easier. He and Georg had the crib put together before we left for dinner last night. I thanked him; I knew Barbara would sleep better in a crib."

"She already sleeps through the night, Maria?"

"Yes, since she was four weeks old, I could count on about five hours of sleep. Georg told me we were very lucky."

"Maria, I still have a der kinderwagen or pram as it is called in English, I'm sure you could use it."

In her best English, "yes, thank you, Barbara is beginning to get heavy."

Karla also told her she had been a German teacher and that she had all kinds of books and even tapes to help the family learn English. She volunteered to come to the house a couple times a week and help everyone.

Then Maria asked, "Can anyone teach me how to use the sewing machine? I love to sew, but everyone needs clothes and it would be faster with the sewing machine."

"I know the woman that teaches sewing at the local school, I'm sure she would help you." After sharing some refreshment, Karla and Patsy Ann left her.

The next few weeks Maria was busy, Cheryl did come to show her how to use the sewing machine. She and the girls went into town and bought lots of fabrics; in a few weeks they all had several new dresses and some play clothes. Maria didn't try to make clothes for the boys, they were getting too old. Pants were difficult and they were easily bought and altered to fit.

Georg was busy, summer school started the week after they arrived. He was teaching the freshman class of midshipmen, the history of submarines; especially those used in the first Great War. They were amazed that he knew the inventor of the torpedo.

The summer was very hot, much different from Austrian summers. Georg bought a car from an officer who was beginning a tour on his ship. They soon learned the way to the nearby mountains in Virginia. Even there is was hot during the day but the evenings and nights were lovely. They grew very fond of the lodge where they stayed.

The children had new experiences; one was swimming in a pool. Maria laughed the first time they went; "This is much better than falling out of a boat into the lake."

Georg recalled the memory, "Maria, did you have to remind me?" They laughed as they cautiously made their way into the pool. Georg and the boys even rode horses; Louisa might have gone along but she "got cold feet." The horses were too big she told her parents.

Letters arrived from their Salzburg friends; addresses were shared and the children started to write letters, mostly in English. Georg learned that Dr. Abraham had set up practice near a large hospital in Center City; Sam and Peter were teaching at Temple University where Samuel would start his pre-med courses.


	28. Fall

FALL

The von Trapp children were all ready for school starting in September. The elementary school, for Marta and Brigitta, was just a short walk outside the entrance gates and the high school, for Kurt and Louisa, was only a few blocks further. Gretl attended a special school located on the campus grounds for five and six year olds.

Liesl, Rolf and Friedrich all attended St. Thomas College, located in Annapolis; they took a bus together. Liesl and Rolf were given credit for their studies at the University of Zurich; they were considered second semester sophomores. Because schools in Europe were different, Friedrich entered as a second semester freshman; he was a pre-med major.

In late September, Maria had a surprise waiting for her as she walked with Barbara one morning. She was coming close to the campus gate. Maria could see in the distance four people walking in her direction. The closer they got to each other, Maria was sure she recognized two of them. Then she gasped, and almost running as she pushed the pram, "Max, Elsa," she yelled.

Max surrounded her in a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and Elsa did the same. Then she recognized the other woman, "Frau Decker," and looking at the young girl, "you must be Anna." They too embraced.

"The children will be so surprised. Rota, Rolf has prayed that you were in the group. Do you know how we learned about your arrival in America?"

"No, they all responded."

"Uncle George."

"Who."

"He's just like you Max, not really an uncle; he was and still is our escort. He heard it on the news, that Hitler was hot on your trail as you left."

"That's right Maria, it was very bad."

The first to meet them was Gretl, Maria always walked to her school to walk her home. She ran into Max's arms and showered him with kisses. She held his hand all the way home. The others arrived as soon as Maria had brought out some glasses and some lemonade. Tears, hugs and gasps were everywhere.

Rolf and Liesl went for a walk with his mother and sister; they had much to talk about. "Rolf, I now know your father is dead; he was shot by a Nazi guard for disobeying an order to kill a child. I believe he finally realized the extent of their hate." At these words, Rolf clung to Liesl in a somber embrace; he never had bad thoughts about his father; he had been misguided, just as he had. They both had been lied to.

This news saddened him and Liesl. "Mother, I believe God accepted him into heaven, having died for the sake of a child," the tremble in his voice was very obvious.

"Yes, Rolf, I also believe that."

Georg arrived home while they were still sitting on the porch. He decided to take everyone to the Officer's Club for dinner. Later, Maria and Georg sat with Max and Elsa. "I can't believe you are all here. How did you get out?"

"Elsa was able to get all of us to London. We sailed on the S.S. Normandie. After our required days at the "hotel," we took the train to Philadelphia. The singing group is on tour."

"With my money, I'm helping the women who came with us establish businesses. Rita and Clara are opening a dress shop in Center City. She also told them about Rolf's father."

Maria's eyes watered, "God has him now, I'm certain."

They stayed only a couple of days; they promised to find Dr. Abraham and the others and to stay in touch, especially with the holidays right around the corner.

Max and Elsa had not come into the country unnoticed. In a matter of weeks, Max was offered a position as a talent scout for a local Philadelphia recording company. Elsa was invited to become an assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Austrian affairs.

Maria and the family's English was improving; they just didn't know all the English words to their favorite hymns; she wanted the children to be able to sing.

Maria wanted to find a German speaking church. One day she was walking outside the campus gate, she didn't want to go very far. She found what she was looking for, The Church of the Holy Trinity, a German congregation.

Maria often attended daily Mass with Barbara. She introduced herself to the Parish priest. He responded, "I'm Father George."

Maria chuckled, "it seems everyone I've met is named George."

He laughed with her, "Welcome to my little Church. The baby is…?"

"Barbara, she's six months old. She has two brothers, a brother-in-law and four sisters. My husband, Georg is teaching at the Naval Academy."

"How long have you been here?"

"Just a few weeks, we've been attending Mass at the Chapel."

"Your family is more than welcome to join us. There are very few children who attend; it is mainly older people who never learned English very well."

"Would they appreciate my children singing?"

"Oh, yes, there are a few adults who also sing very well."

The next Sunday the family attended their new church. Father George was indeed impressed with their singing. He would talk with Maria; he wanted to know how they became so good.

Father George invited her to have lunch with him and the Reverend Mother from the local convent. During lunch, Father George had sensed that Maria had a very strong faith and knowing that she had married a widowed naval captain with seven children, he just knew she had an interesting story to tell.

Later at another meeting, "Maria, you seemed to be very at ease with Reverend Mother."

"Yes, she reminded me of Mother Abbess at Nonnberg Abbey."

"Nonnberg Abbey?"

"Yes, I was a postulant there for two years. I was loaned to the Captain to teach and take care of his children for the summer months."

"And, Maria – what happened?"

"Let me just say; my temper and outspokenness about his lack of attention to the children, woke him up you might say. And then he heard them sing. God had different plans for both of us; he wasn't supposed to marry a woman he didn't love and I wasn't supposed to become a nun. Mother Abbess told me I had to face my feelings for him. You know the rest of the story." She smiled and chuckled with him.

"A fascinating story, Maria, you've never lost your devotion to Jesus, have you?"

"No Father, Georg and I are trying to instill that same devotion in our children."

"And Maria, they sing so well. How did that happen?"

"They are musically gifted, gifts given them through birth. Georg and his first wife shared those gifts with their children. I'm just their choir director."

"A gifted choir director, I heard your voice, it's like that of a trained singer."

"Thank you Father, I try to use it to glorify God."

"You do."

Future conversations would tell the Father about the escape from Austria; Maria's Good Samaritan, the rebirth of Rolf, his marriage to Liesl and their trip to America with their Jewish friends.

The family added two new holidays to their celebrations, Halloween and Thanksgiving. For Halloween, the children decided to be Austrian peasants, they had almost everything they needed in their wardrobes; a little bit of makeup to give them rosy cheeks was all they needed to add. Georg took the children out, just to the homes of their friends on campus. Maria sat on the porch with Barbara and gave out their candy.

Thanksgiving took on a special meaning for the family after learning of its origin; they felt like they fit right it. Just like the first settlers had made friends with the Indians and celebrated together, the von Trapp family had felt the kindness of the Americans and were thankful.

Father George told Maria about the Thanksgiving dinner at the Church. "Many people go away, Maria, and those who are left have their dinner here at the church, one big happy family." He told her.

Maria and Georg loved the idea and so the new American family shared this special day with their new friends.

Maria regretted not being able to celebrate Hanukkah with their friends. Instead she had the children write letters about the meaning of friendship; she put Louisa in charge. Some of what they wrote: Friendship is having the kindness to help  
>Friendship is giving to others without thinking. From Liesl; and from Brigitta, Friendship is supportive, wholesome and priceless. Even from Gretl, My friend is nice. We like to play. We play together every day.<p>

Return letters from Ruth and Rebecca were just as lovely.


	29. Christmas in America

CHRISTMAS IN AMERICA

Christmas took on a special meaning with having a baby in the family. Gretl and Marta were the only ones who still believed in the Christ Child bringing their gifts. They became terribly confused when the other children started talking about Santa Claus.

Maria had to find a story that connected the two ideas. After reading several stories, Maria put them all together and then told the girls her own story. She started by showing them a map of the world.

"Girls we live on planet Earth, made up of many different countries." She pointed to Austria where they were born and then to America where they now live. She also showed them where Jesus was born 2000 years ago. She went on to say, "the people of the world all lived near where Jesus was born. Then explorers found new places, like Austria, Switzerland and then America. Everywhere people celebrate Christmas, just a little different. Americans first believed in a strict bishop who rode on a white horse; then he was called St. Nicholas. Later a poet wrote a poem about "jolly old St. Nicolas."

The girls smiled, they had heard the song "_Jolly Old St. Nicholas_," sung by their friends. "Yes, that's right," their Mother said.

"And then St. Nicholas became Santa Claus as pictures of him were drawn showing him to be, a plump kindly man dressed in a red suit. Girls it doesn't matter if you write your letter to the Christ Child or to Santa Claus, St. Nicholas will still bring good little boys and girls their gifts." Then she read to them the story, "Santa and the Christ Child."

Georg knew what he needed to do to prepare for Advent, make their wreath, but where would he get the fur tree branches. There was no forest nearby.

"George, I need your help. I need to make our Advent Wreath. Where can I get some fur tree branches?"

"From the Christmas Tree vendor."

"You, mean to tell me you don't cut down your own tree?"

"No, Georg, you can't just go to a forest and cut down trees."

"The boys are going to be very disappointed."

"Come my friend, the vendor is just down the street from the campus."

George explained Georg's dilemma. "No problem," the vendor said and showed him a pile of small tree branches. "Take as many as you need," then, "don't wait too long to buy your tree."

"We don't put it up until Christmas Eve."

The man smiled, he remembered another Austrian family several years ago. "I'll save a good one for you."

Back at the house, Kurt and Brigitta helped him assemble their wreath; it was just as beautiful as last year. Georg hung it over the table, attached it to the chandelier. It was the perfect height. The Red Christ Candle was placed below it on the table.

Maria had saved their Advent Calendar and she once again hung it for all to see; and as last year every morning they opened a new flap, read and shared the scripture and its meaning for them today.

At the first Sunday of Advent the children proudly sang each hymn. Their voices were loud and clear and the other parishioners marveled at their harmony. On their way out, Father George asked Maria, "Will you sing Mary's song for us."

Maria smiled as she nodded; she loved to sing that song. Father went on to ask, "Does anyone play the guitar?"

"Yes, Liesl and I both do, but we don't have a guitar."

"No problem I have one, then you will play it for Silent Night on Christmas Eve?"

"I'd be happy to."

The next day at work, George came into to see Georg. "The big game is Saturday."

"The big game?"

"Yes, Georg, the bus leaves at nine in the morning, there's room for all your family. And, waving tickets in his had, I have tickets for everyone."

Again Georg asked, "What game George?"

"The Army-Navy football game."

"Ah, football, the American equivalent of soccer, I'll need to ask Maria."

"Maria, before the boys hear this, I need to tell you. George wants all of us to go to the football game in Philadelphia on Saturday." She gave him a confused look and so he explained everything.

"Not me and the baby."

"Yes, everyone, there are enough of us to take turns holding her."

"Well, we must get in touch with Elsa and Max."

"Of course."

Max and Elsa were excited, Elsa would put them all up in a hotel and Max, now that he has money, told Georg. "I'll buy you return tickets for the train."

Georg had laughed, "So finally you're not a sponge."

Saturday was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. The children were all excited. Georg had explained the game of football to everyone. Even Marta and Gretl were happy to be going. Well, Barbara just came along for the ride.

That night after the game which Navy won by seven points, Max and Elsa treated them to a nice dinner, joining them were Rita and Anna. The next day they attended Mass at a church just around the corner from the hotel. Max and Elsa met them for lunch and then Max took them to the train station.

Christmas was coming, too quick for Maria, she had shopping to do. Taking advantage of the last days of school for the children, she and Barbara went Christmas shopping. It was hard this year, only Marta and Gretl had written their lists. Maria was determined to get everyone something special. One child was easy, Kurt, he was getting a football; Friedrich and Rolf, cufflinks. For Liesl a piece of jewelry, a ceramic Edelweiss pin, Brigitta had tickets for the Catholic Youth Conference in Washington DC and for Marta, a memory box, Gretl wanted hair barrettes, similar to what Marta got last year. Everyone bought Barbara toys, but Maria bought her first doll.

Christmas Eve was just like last year, they spent the afternoon decorating the tree, then they went to Mass where Maria did play the guitar for Silent Night. While they were at church, George and Karla took the childrens' gifts out of hiding and placed them around the tree.

Everyone was on the floor surrounding Barbara; she could sit up but still fell backwards occasionally. Kurt loved Barbara, he had helped Maria with her on their trip, he was big for his age and had grown quite strong. He loved to make her laugh.

The children all helped her unwrapped her gifts. As with all nine month old babies she liked to play with the paper and the boxes as much as the gifts. Of course she received more than the others, they didn't care, they loved to watch her. Among her gifts were a small Teddy Bear, stacking rings, her first book, Winnie the Pooh, a small wooden rocking horse was a gift from Uncle George and Karla and then the adorable doll from her mother and father, a doll with a soft body but whose eyes opened and closed.

After all their gifts were opened, they sang Christmas carols, each taking a turn playing the recorder. Soon they noticed, Barbara had fallen asleep in Kurt's arms. Quietly, they sang "Lullaby, Jesus" which their mother had taught them.

It had been a long day for everyone and one by one the children went to their rooms. Maria and Georg made the rounds, praying with each one and blessing them with the sign of the cross before they fell asleep.

With Barbara sound asleep in her crib, Georg and Maria talked and marveled at all they blessings they had received.


	30. The New Year

THE NEW YEAR

After the Epiphany, the children all started back to school. It was just Maria and Barbara at home during the day. Georg always came home early on his afternoon off, Wednesdays.

This Wednesday was no different; he came home full of news. "Maria, the vice-superintendent informed me today, I have been elevated to position of professor and have been asked to teach some additional classes. It seems there are many midshipmen who want to take my classes."

"What does that mean, Georg?"

"It means we will be here for a long time."

"Will we always be able to stay in this house?"

"That's all included; my salary reflects what I would have to pay for housing."

"Is that okay?"

Maria nodded. "If that's true, I've been thinking. It's time for Barbara to have her own room."

"Hummmn, is that so!" Georg smiled. "We do need our private time. I need to get you pregnant!" They both laughed.

Maria slapped him playfully on the shoulder, "I don't seem to remember, that Barbara's been bothering your attempts." He smothered her with a kiss.

"What did you have in mind, Maria?"

"There are two closets in the bedroom; our clothes don't even fill one of them. The biggest one has a window; we could make it her nursery."

"What do I need to do?'

"It will need a coat of paint and I will make some curtains, and then add furniture. I think we do need to return the crib someone else may need it."

During her Christmas shopping, Maria had seen a Consignment Shoppe; she had browsed one day and had seen some lovely things. That was her first place to shop. There she found a set, crib, changing table with drawers and a rocking chair. A part of the room would still have a hanging rod for some of Barbara's clothes.

Georg and the boys painted, early one morning. He made everyone stay out of the house, opened all the windows to get rid of the paint odor. By the following week everything was ready for Barbara. The change didn't bother her a bit and Georg and Maria had the privacy they deserved.

Over winter break, Georg took the family to the Blueberry Ridge Lodge in the mountains. Although it had snowed in Annapolis; it was nothing like the snows of Austria. So for four days they skied and skated and sang by the fireplace in the main lobby. They had become good friends with the owners, William and Mary Woodsman. They invited them to come back during the summer for the music festival.

"What is it, Mary?"

"Two weeks of singing, groups come through here on their way to Nashville, to practice before auditioning for the record companies. A gentleman by the name of Max Detweiler will be bringing his groups from Philadelphia."

Georg and Maria broke out in laughter. Mary looked at them, curiously. "We know Max, he's from Vienna, he's a very close friend, in fact the children call him Uncle Max."

They promised to check Georg's schedule and let them know. "Georg, it would be nice to spend some time with Max; maybe our Salzburg friends could also come for a few days."

Knowing that, the family returned home, soon to celebrate Barbara's first birthday. They had made lots of friends at the Academy and all their friends in Philadelphia came down. People were sleeping everywhere. The children didn't mind giving up their beds to the adults; they all slept together in the living room.

The next day was Sunday and they were going to Mass; not the early one they usually attended but at eleven. Everyone went; Maria counted twenty-two; she remarked as they were walking, "We will take up most of the church." The service concluded, but Father George did not give the final blessing, instead he recognized Barbara's Birthday and the entire church sang to her.

As the group left, Father George told Maria, "I was getting worried about you, you've always told me when you would be out of town."

"These are all our friends from Austria, there was no way to get everyone ready earlier," Maria introduced everyone as they left the church.

Georg had reserved several tables at the Officer's Club for lunch, divided adults and children. After gathering their things from the house, their friends left on a bus for the train station.

As they left, Maria reminded them, "We will see everybody at the lodge in July?"

All she saw or heard were yeses and nods of agreement.

The "marry month of May," Rolf and Liesl's first wedding anniversary. Maria and Georg treated the couple to a three night stay at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel including a guided late night sail on the Severn River.

The timing of the Music Festival at the Lodge was perfect; everyone came for at least part of it. It was great seeing Max for that long. Max could not resist the opportunity to hear the children sing again.

"Maria, what have you done? They sound wonderful!"

"Max, don't get too excited, they only sing in church or a school chorus."

"I can wish, can't I?"

Maria laughed and Georg shook his head and reminded him, "Max, my children don't sing for money."

The year ended with Maria learning she was expecting another child, sometime in August.


	31. The Rest of the Story

THE REST OF THE STORY

The years were good to Maria and Georg, after Laura Marie was born, came Christopher Johannes. There was almost eight years between the two. Maria developed kidney problems after Laura was born; that caused a miscarriage later on, and threatened her ability to get pregnant again. The doctors had warned her not to try, but Maria did and she carried Chris to full term, a big baby weighing ten pounds. He never did wear newborn clothes and he was started on solid foods, liquefied with orange juice and fed through a nipple with a large hole. Maria's kidney problem would affect her the rest of her life.

The years of the Great Depression did not affect them as much as the rest of the world. Georg's teaching position at the Naval Academy was secure.

Maria tried to find ways to lift the people's spirits. Georg allowed the children to sing. Father George would allow them to use the church for concerts; everyone was invited. As the years went by the concerts became a means to collect donations for charity.

Liesl and Rolf both finished college Rolf became a math teacher and Liesl taught piano lessons with a friend who had a small studio. After having practiced Catholic birth control, Liesl and Rolf set that practice aside and she gave her parents their first grandchild; a daughter, Agathe Mary. A few years later, Max was born. Liesl always had a special connection to Uncle Max; he was there for her after her mother died.

When the United States entered the war against Hitler and Mussolini, and later against Japan, Rolf applied for military service. He was rejected. It seems his beating by the guards had caused more damage than he realized. His kidneys had been damaged and he had broken other bones, which were not noticeable until he had his military physical.

Friedrich completed his pre-med studies and went on to the University of Virginia, Medical School. After graduation he stayed in the mountains to practice. His schooling was paid as part of an agreement to serve the poor people in the mountains of Virginia, West Virginia or Pennsylvania. He married a young lady from Virginia, Judith Marie; she was a lot like Maria, very devote. She too had at one time wanted to be a nun. They worked together as a team bringing health care to the poor. They had a large family four girls and two boys.

It was around the time of Friedrich's graduation from medical school, that Maria and Georg and the family began to spend more and more time at the lodge in the mountains. Georg had began to suffer from respiratory infections, it seemed like the mountain air helped him.

Louisa continued to write in her journal; it became a history of the family. She graduated from college with a degree in English; Louisa had many opportunities open to her. Later she would team up with Brigitta in missionary work. Louisa never found that right person to marry. She lived at home with her parents, although she traveled often.

Kurt was Georg's pride, he became a Naval Officer. He became a serious student in high school and achieved the grades to apply for an appointment to the Naval Academy. Georg kept his distance while he was at the Naval Academy. Kurt was more interested in intelligence than submarines, although he had been his Father's guest when he was given a tour of the Navy's latest submarine when he was a senior in high school. He majored in history and English. Upon graduation he did his first tour off the coast of Africa. Later he would serve in the Department of Navy as an Intelligence officer. He married his long time girl friend Ericka; together they had four daughters and two sons.

Brigitta was the most like Maria; she had a pull on her heart to serve God. She had asked her parents to attend Our Lady of Lourdes High School for Girls. It was associated with a convent. The year following graduation she entered the convent. But just like Maria, she soon found that life was not for her. Brigitta was called to be a medical missionary; she completed her nursing education at St. Frances Hospital in Baltimore. There she met a young doctor who also had aspiration for mission work. They never had children; their mission work took them around the world.

It was at this time that Georg could no longer teach, his breathing had become very difficult. Their good friends at the Blueberry Lodge were growing older and wished to sell the Lodge. Maria and Georg prayed and the Lord led them to purchase it, not out-right at first but over the next two years. Sadly during the second year, William died, not from any illness, just old age. He was considerably older than his wife Mary. The von Trapps completed the purchase of the lodge but Mary remained and was cared for by them until her death.

Georg's health continued to decline. He was in the hospital when the doctors told him about the tumor. Maria and Kurt came to take Georg home. He was sitting on the side of the bed when she walked into his room. Maria was trying to hide her emotions; she knew what the doctors had told Georg.

_Removing a cancer tumor from the lung when it was so close to his heart had not been perfected; the consulting surgeon had told them it was much too dangerous._

Georg could read her – he always could, they never kept secrets – surprises yes – but not secrets.

"Maria, darling, take me home. I want to spend what time I have left with you and the children."

She sat beside him; he reached around and brought her to him for an embrace. Sobbing into his shoulder, "I'm trying not to mad at God, I know he doesn't cause people to die – everybody dies and I know your destination is heaven. But this is so hard, I love you so very much, I can't imagine living without you."

"Maria, don't cry. The children need you. Continue to be strong in your faith; God will sustain you, I truly believe. Remember what you told us when we left Switzerland – He will never forsake us, He promised."

Kurt knocked on the door, "Are you ready to come home Father?"

"Yes, son, take me home."

During the ride home, Kurt could hear his parents talking. "I don't want the children to be sad; I want to hear their talking, their laughter and mostly their singing – not only hymns but all those fun songs you taught them long ago – especially, My Favorite Things."

Maria couldn't help but laugh. "I wish I still had my postulant nightgown that you saw me wearing during the thunderstorm." They both smiled at each other. Kurt also smiled as he remembered that night as well.

"That's okay. Maria, I still remember it." Kurt saw them kiss in the rearview mirror. He thought about all they had taught him and his siblings about love and faith.

The house was very quiet when he walked inside. "Where is everyone?"

"I'm not sure, Georg."

They both looked at Kurt; "They want you to come in the backyard."

"Really!"

"Come on."

There in the backyard was a large sign; WELCOME HOME FATHER

They all broke into a silly song, using those words to the birthday tune. One of their Father's favorite American meals was a cookout – hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, lemonade and strawberry shortcake.

After dinner, Maria had her guitar; together they sang all the songs he wanted to hear. Saying their family prayers, they retired for the night.

Georg was quite well for the next two months – it happened just like the doctors and Friedrich had told them. Then Maria started to notice subtle changes, he was sleeping more and his breathing was becoming more difficult. But he never lost his wit or sense of humor. He had asked never to be alone and he wasn't.

Maria wasn't sure how she and the children were going to handle his final days, hours and the very end. Georg recognized her dilemma. "Maria, let the children decide, I only worry about Chris. I know the end is not pretty."

"Yes, I know that too. Friedrich told me."

"Me too. I want to hear normal talking and singing even if it is done through tears. Help me to go into the arms of Jesus happy. Try, Maria, please try."

"I will Georg, I will."

The priest came to administer the Sacraments, Georg never loss consciousness, until the very end. All the children were home. They sat on the floor of their bedroom, singing.

Friedrich recognized the final moments; he started singing Edelweiss, their Father opened his eyes and smiled. Then they closed again, forever, but his smile remained. He was in God's presence, they were all sure of it. One by one they kissed him for the final time.

They didn't wait long to bury him in a plot of land on the crest of the hill next to the lodge; he was carried there by friends, dressed in his Austrian wool suit with the Maria Theresien Cross pinned on his breast; his U-boat flag over his knees.

Maria remembered these words, "I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is a crown laid up for me…."

After the words of Christian burial, his family and friends followed an Austrian custom, each sprinkled into his grave some dirt and Holy Water. They all had come, Max and Elsa, Father George, George and Karla and all those who had escaped with them from Switzerland. Many stayed for over a week, the lodge had room for everyone.

A bench, surrounded by Edelweiss, sits nearby, welcoming his family and friends to sit with him for a moment. A large cross and small stone marker denotes the Captain's place as head of his family. A replica of "his whistle," encased in glass was placed with a small engraved plate that read, "My brave sea Captain."

At first Maria would sit there for hours talking to him. Liesl and Fredrich were very worried about her. But soon, the saying, "time heals everything" came true for Maria as well as for everyone else. They always remembered their Father's words; "be happy, sing and laugh." Louisa continued to live at home; she often sat on the bench by her Father's grave and wrote what would eventually become a published Family Story. Brigitta and her husband stayed in the United States, bringing health to the poor in the Appalachian Mountains.

Marta was heartbroken by her father's death, but she finally gathered the strength to go on with her life. After graduating from fashion school, she became a designer. While living in Philadelphia she met a young man, Earnest. They married and had six children, three girls and three boys. In later years, they would move back to Austria and live in Vienna.

Georg's Gretl, his baby for so many years suffered greatly from the death of her mother. She had been only one, deprived of a mother's love she never really grew up. Maria, didn't really help, she became her baby too. And now her father was gone. Gretl did everything that was expected; she went to school, she sang with the family; the first young man she met she married. Then tragedy struck, her first pregnancy ended with a stillborn baby. Even though she had had a caesarean section, the baby could not be born in time. The next day when the nurse checked on her, early in the morning; Gretl was dead. She had died in her sleep. Friedrich talked tirelessly with her doctors; no reason for her death was ever determined. She was laid to rest beside her Father.

Barbara was eighteen when her father died. She had a resolute love for her parents. She stayed by Maria's side through the next few years, their grief went very deep. Eventually she began to use her voice, she was gifted and became a professional gospel singer; but her roots were at the lodge.

Laura Marie was in her early teen years, Liesl's daughter, Agathe was almost the same age. She finished high school mostly living with them. Rolf and Liesl helped her deal with her grief. She too found her life to be in music.

Chris was eight when Georg died; he was a very intuitive young boy. He was always at his Mother's side; at first Maria was so consumed with her own grief she gave no thought to it. But in the next year she talked to him, "Chris, I'm not going to leave you, I don't think God wants me yet." She asked him, "What do you want to do?" His answer surprised her. "Can I live with Kurt and Ericka? There are no children here at the lodge." He would travel between the two homes. He went on to college, obtaining a degree in forestry, but he eventually became the administrator of the lodge.

Elsa eventually re-married, Tomas Moore an envoy to Austria and the two of them returned to Austria. She had told Maria that she would work there to be sure the relief funds were put to good use. The whole operation had been named "Operation Edelweiss."

Max, after much success as a talent scout, retired at the Lodge. He made sure there were always musical groups passing through and pausing to share their music at the lodge. He passed on to the Lord several years later.

The Villa; the family had given the keys to the Catholic University Seminary. Before they could occupy it, Hitler's henchman, Heinrich Himmler took control of it. After the war it was returned to the family, they eventually sold it to a Catholic missionary order. The home was given a spiritual cleansing by the Bishop.

Maria lived for many more years despite her health problems. She was the guest of Hollywood stars, Bob Hope, Jack Benny to name a few; she spoke at events telling the Family Story; she was even the guest of the President of the United States.

When the Pentecostal Movement entered the Catholic Church, Maria was blessed by the Holy Spirit. She felt called to serve as a missionary.

After a life she loved, as wife and mother, she felt the call of God once again. She and Louisa would team up with Brigitta and her husband and traveled to serve the poorest of the poor bringing healthcare and Jesus to the people.

At age 87, forty years after Georg's death, she peacefully went to sleep forever; buried next to her sea captain, now united with him in heaven forever.

Her faith will always remembered by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She left behind a story that some might call a fairy tale, but it was a story of the greatest gift God ever gave us – LOVE.

Author's note: I hope those of you who have read my story have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I leave you now with this, "Here endeth the story."


End file.
